Luffy the Explorer
by ThatLemonTree
Summary: Luffy is an explorer/adventurer trying to find the missing treasure of Holy Land Mariejois with his friends. Meeting new nakamas, finding love and facing the unpleasant past. Come join Luffy as he makes his friends lives a living hell. Rating might change. Luffy is smart-ish. OOC-ish.
1. The Explorer and his Tech-Dude

The Explorer and his Tech-Dude

"We're gonna die aren't we?" Was what a distinctively long-nosed man with long curly black hair muttered at his companion. He cringed looking at a maniacally grinning raven head man with midnight black eyes, a peculiar horizontal scar below his left eye. He had been with the man for so long that he knew full well what that smile meant. Bad news...very ...very bad news for the long-nosed man.

"Shishishi, what are you talking about Usopp! This is totally fun!" The raven head replied nonchalantly without looking at his friend, ducking through a forest of icicle-shaped stalactite formation hanging from the cave ceiling, water dripping through its pointed length. Vapor came out of his mouth with every breath that left his warm body and comes in contact with the cold air. The temperature dramatically decreased as they delved deeper and deeper into the cave. Protectively clutching his straw hat and towing his long-nosed friend behind, he crouched and was soon on his hands and knees, maneuvering through a very narrow tunnel.

"Fun my ass! You think being trapped in a freaking ancient cave system in the middle of a freaking tundra is fun?! Usopp complained, exasperated with all the senseless shit he had experienced as he spent one freaking hour with his companion. Just one freaking hour and he almost died five times. He crawled to the tight expanse, following the straw-hatted man, shivering, and teeth chattering from the sudden temperature drop.

Emerging from the tunnel and into a bigger cavity of the cave, Ussop rubbed his eyes as he tried to adjust to the darkness. He saw the raven head fumbling through his white and red striped jacket, grabbing a flare and lighting it up without further hesitation. The flare lit the cavern, immediately, high pitched screeching, swooping and flapping sounds echoed as startled hanging bats woke up from their slumber. Usopp yelped and threw himself down on the ground, his hands protecting his head from the swarm hovering above him. He didn't even mind the bat excretion and strong stench of urine. He dare peeked through his hands only to see his companion frozen in awe ignoring the flapping bats.

The raven head stood unmoving tightly holding the flare, eyes wide open and mouth agape trying to soak in the display in front of him. Caricatures, strange shape and patterns encrusted on the cave wall glimmered as red light bounced in the cavern. Usopp slowly stood up and tiptoed towards the other man who was still gaping at the wall. Below the 'ancient doodles' that Usopp couldn't comprehend, faint indentations of what seemed to be ancient writings followed.

"Usopp give me your camera, fast!" the man said with obvious enthusiasm. Usopp crouched and dropped his backpack on the wet cave floor. He rummaged through his backpack trying to find his waterproof camera. After constant nagging and yapping about 'how this discovery can aid them in finding the treasure and revealing an important part of history' and some more blabbering that Usopp had no idea what it was about from his companion, Usopp finally found the damned camera and gave it to his friend hoping it will shut the man up. The camera's clicking sound revibrated in the hollow tunnels and the flickering light flashed as the raven head abused the shutter button of Usopp's poor camera.

The raven head paused as Usopp placed all the scattered gadgets lying on the ground. The long-nosed man complained about damages and payments and how the straw-hatted teen destroys most of his prized gadgets. "Shhh, Usopp... Do you hear that?" the raven head whispered, closing his eyes and nose scrunched in concentration. He cupped his ear with his hand. Usopp hurriedly ran beside the man, his hands trembling not from the temperature but out of fear.

"Is it them?" he asked his companion, speaking in a voice not louder than a whisper. Usopp questioned his life choice as he hid behind his friend pale as sheet. First, nothing...nothing ever goes well with his best friend because he was an insane adventure-obsessed freak that didn't care shit about Usopp's opinions on the importance of life and self-preservation. One does not simply have a normal life if you're friends with a lunatic with a shit-eating grin.  
Second, he didn't sign up for this shit. He woke up in the middle of the godforsaken frozen lands halfway across the world without any clue as to how he ended up there, only to see his best friend looming over him grinning like the lunatic that he was. How the bastard explained everything made Usopp want to pull every single strand of his hair. 'Oh, I shot you with a tranquilizer gun cause I know you won't come with me cause you're boring sometimes. But I need your help cause I'm shit with tech things and you're good at it so I hauled your skinny ass here and taadaa!' Never in his 22 years of life did Usopp had the intense desire to strangle a person. Usopp was so close to gouging his friend's eyes from its sockets but his inner voice stopped him, he needed the bastard to escape the nightmarish damp dark place.

Monkey D. Freaking Luffy, Usopp's, oh-so-dear-best friend who was also a maniac, was Usopp's only key for survival in his current predicament. The tech-loving man actually admires his friend wholeheartedly. They met in their grade school years, became inseparable and basically grew up together. They even went to the same middle school, high school, and university until the bastard dropped out of uni to 'explore' the world. Luffy had a freaking superior IQ of 160, that was probably why Usopp could never understand how his friend's brain work or it was also because his friend's actions sometimes did not include the important function of the brain called thinking. His skull might as well be hollow. Usopp does not understand why the smartest ones are always the weirdest too. Living proof was his friend, Luffy.  
Luffy threw the flare on the floor and stepped on it and safely tucked the camera inside his jacket's pocket as he heard muffled voices along the tunnels. Sudden darkness covered the cavern and Luffy grabbed Usopp's hand, towing his tech-loving friend, he quickly hid behind a ridge of rock jutting out from the cave wall. "Is it -" Luffy placed a finger on Usopp's lip to shut him up. Luffy inched forward moving his knees and took a peek through a narrow gap between the ridge where they hid. It was dark and the view was obscured by rock's pointy texture but he could make out four dot-like lights at the end of the tunnel.

Usopp was forced to train a bit with Luffy when the idiot decided to make him his tech guy but just because he trained for shit like this didn't mean he wasn't scared shitless. The bastards came after them. Usopp's heart skipped a beat as he realized their pursuer had moved closer, the distance between could only be a few meters. Heavy footsteps and splashing water echoed inside the tunnel. Usopp's heart almost jumped out of his chest as his hands were yanked by Luffy, both of them slipping through the slick rocks like they were on a freaking slide on a playground and the bastard had the guts to laugh.  
"Luffy!" Usopp semi screamed, flailing his hand as they landed a perfect 10 on the deeper part of the cave.

"I said shhh Usopp." the raven head demanded, pouting as he brushed his now wet straw hat. Usopp smacked Luffy's head.

"Shh? What do you mean shh, your laughter reached Grandline for fuck sake! Do you even realize the danger we're in? What the hell man!" Usopp said through gritted teeth in a hushed yet demanding voice. He grabbed Luffy's arm and shook the man hoping his brain would actually work and start functioning. " There are currently eight...freaking eight guys chasing us Luffy! They.. they have guns and shit!" Usopp added.

The straw-hatted man dramatically drew in a deep breath and tilted his head sideways, the straw hat tied around his neck flung to the side. He furrowed his brows, sighed and placed a finger on his creased forehead staring off the distance as if in deep thought. He then placed his clenched fist over his palm as if he finally found the answers to mind-boggling questions relating to the universe with his mouth forming an 'o'. Usopp sighed in relief, it seemed his friend finally sorted his brains and decided to make it function normally.

"Actually... there were ten men carrying semi-automatic handguns with laser sight and five of them had grenade sashes," Luffy said as a matter-of-fact like it didn't concern his well being. Usopp groaned loudly as he facepalmed himself, he hoped his hand would go straight through his face so he dies right there and then or rip out his brain and smack it on Luffy's /  
"Oh wow! Sorry for not being freaking specific Luffy! We were running away from those psycho's, I didn't exactly have the leisure to see what shit they were bringing cause I freaking value my life, unlike some idiot I know!" Usopp screeched, raising his hands in defeat. Just what did he expect from this man actually? This was Luffy he was talking to. The idiot who stole an advanced lethal weapon that Dr. Vega Punk created for the World Government cause he got fucking bored. Great! So fucking brilliant! Usopp wondered how on the seven seas did this man survive until now or why he was not dumped in Impel Down.

"Whoaw... whoaw man, don't be so defensive," Luffy said moving a few steps back from Usopp. "Chill~ Shishishi". Usopp wanted to just drop dead and end his torment.

Luffy snapped up towards the slope they slid off, his eyes went wide his expression one of glee quickly turned into alarm. He lurched forward towards Usopp's direction, knocking down the shocked man. Faint voices moved in their direction growing louder and louder until the muffled voices turned to yelling and then came the gunshots. Luffy cursed himself for not paying attention and delaying his response. They stumbled blindly farther down the cave, barrelling through and breaking stalagmites and stalactites, their bodies hitting the unforgiving rocky floor.

Luffy and Usopp groaned as they fell into a shallow pool of frigid stagnant water. Both men heard a loud thud and then the sound of an exploding grenade broke, the tunnels shook violently. "Shit!" Luffy cursed and covered Usopp with his body, arms wrapped around his head. Usopp tried to push him off but the man didn't budge. "Stop it Luffy! You'll get hurt!" Usopp screamed through the ringing sound as Luffy's body pressed against his. Mixture of rocks, snow and ice mass broke into pieces and rolled down the slope slamming hard on Luffy's back. The raven head groaned as each debris hit his back.

Rolling masses finally settled leaving dust and fog and dissolved into the surrounding darkness. Luffy pushed himself up, debris falling off his back and tried to stand up. He sputtered and coughed as dust filled his mouth. He closed his eyes tight then opened them again, it was pitch black. He felt Usopp's hand flailing trying to grasp onto something. Luffy rummaged his jacket for a light stick, he was right to use the flare earlier. He found the stick after a few minutes of fumbling his pocket and snapped it, the yellow light illuminated the tunnel.

"Shit! Luffy you're bleeding!" Usopp said as soon as the light hit his eyes and gave him a proper view of his best friend. His ears still rung from the loud explosion as he brushed his soaking clothes and stood up.  
"It's okay Usopp, I just need to- "Luffy hissed as he pulled a lodged stone on his right arm. "Hold this for me." Luffy gave Usopp the light stick. Usopp grabbed the stick and examined the wound. "That's a deep gash Luffy. Shit. That looks painful." Usopp cringed. The raven head unzipped his jacket and took it off ignoring the freezing cold. Luffy grabbed hold of his undershirt and ripped off a piece of it to tie around the wound and stop the bleeding. "Usopp pull the other side of the cloth, pull it hard." Usopp immediately assisted Luffy. Luffy grimaced as the cloth constricted his arm. "Fuck that hurts," he said.

"We need to get out of here, we don't have any first aid. You'll bleed to death. Plus, we're soaking wet, we'll eventually freeze and die if we spend too much time here and damn, look at you man, I told you not to cover me. You have tons of wounds and I'm sure you're gonna bruise. Chopper will kill us. Fuck." Usopp said helping Luffy put his jacket back on and sat him on a rock slab. Usopp opened his soaked bag, hoping his gadgets still worked. He grabbed a notebook and chanted 'work work work' over and over as if it would magically help his gadget turn on. As soon as it lit up Usopp beamed and started typing.

"Where's the camera Usopp?" Luffy asked while snapping another light stick. He examined his straw hat, looking for cuts and holes. Luffy sighed in relief to see his hat safe and sound without any damage.  
"Ugh, I dunno?" Usopp looked up and shrugged. Luffy tapped every pocket in his jacket and pants. He sighed as he felt the square-ish thing in his jacket pocket. He took out the camera from his pocket and tried to turn it on. He pressed the button over and over. Nothing happened, this is why Luffy can never have techy things , they hated him. They always seemed to break when he holds them. He wanted to sue those things for discrimination.

Luffy groaned. "Usopp the camera won't turn on, the photos I took earlier are freaking important. Shit!"  
"Dude. there's a thing called memory card?" Usopp rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised that you're more worried about the pictures than my freaking camera? That's the fifth one you broke Luffy! Fifth one i tell you. You better replace it."

Luffy looked around and examined their location, ignoring his friend's complaints. The guy had ten more cameras stored in his vault, he didn't need more. "What are you doing?" he asked Usopp.  
"I'm trying to get our location. I just hope there's a fucking signal in here or else it might take a while." Usopp said without looking at Luffy, all focused on his notebook screen..  
"Oh ...you don't have to do that. I know the way out. We came in from the North East entrance and I guided us down south, there should be an exit somewhere... over there." he said calmly pointing at the opposite direction of the sloped tunnel now blocked with rubble.

Usopp stared at his friend with suspicion, he narrowed his eyes and stopped fiddling with his notebook. "Luffy, don't tell me you knew the way out from the start?"Usopp asked in a sing-song manner. The raven head nodded. "But you still dove deeper into this..." Usopp flailed his arms motioning the cave" this.. freaking frozen hole of hell?" he screeched like a banshee.  
"Hmm. Frozen hell? Does that even exist? I thought hell is burning? You know, flames and lava and stuffs. " Luffy tilted his head.

"Ughhhhh!" Usopp pulled his hair in frustration, talking to a rock was better than dealing with his best friend. "I didn't mean it literally you idiot, are you really a genius? cause if you are, I'm losing hope with our system and we're all doomed... But it doesn't matter if it exists or not, I'm asking why did you have to haul our asses all the way down here when you knew the way out in the first place!"

"Usopp," Luffy said in a serious voice as he placed his hands on Usopp's hunched shoulders and stared intently into Usopp's eyes. "It's because caves are awesome! Caves scream adventure! It would be a shame if I don't go and explore it! Duh?! What else? " he suddenly screamed in front of Usopp's face making the long-nosed man cringed and feel stupid..

At that moment, Usopp made a vow, he would definitely strangle Luffy some time soon. "Don't drag me into this shit Luffy. I'm too young to die.I still wanna marry Kaya and have kids. I'll freaking haunt you for the rest of your life if I die!" Usopp grumbled shutting his notebook off and shoving it into his bag. He sighed what did he expect from Luffy really, Usopp decided to not let his hope up. It was a miracle that he survived until now with all the bullshit Luffy dragged him into. They were lucky they came out unscathed, well sort of considering Luffy was wounded. Still, he bows to whatever entity that was currently looking after Luffy that they're in one piece and not blown into smithereens by those angsty psycho armed men that fed on steroids. They had ridiculous muscles, it almost ripped their clothes. And no, Usopp was not envious, he was totally content with his body.

"Shishishi, well that's good then. You'll still be with me even if you die, I won't be alone." Luffy grinned. Usopp thought it was sweet for Luffy to think that way but still very wrong at the same time because that meant Luffy already decided to make Usopp's mortal life a living hell. He'd prefer a chat with Satan involving torture rather than spending eternity with a lunatic 'beastfriend'.

"What am I going to do with you," Usopp muttered running a hand through his messy hair, cringing every time his hand got stuck in tangled knots. "Just get me out of here please." he sighed.  
"Shishishi, alright. Let's go!" Luffy bounced from the rock slab and ran towards the 'exit' waving the light stick he was holding. "Hurry up Usopp! Before they find our car! I don't want to walk in these freezing lands!" The raven head screamed as he turned around to wait for his friend.

"You shouldn't have come here in the first place then." Usopp sighed as he flung his bag over his shoulder and began to walk towards Luffy wondering how on earth could he still walk normally with all those wounds.


	2. The Explorer and his Tech-Dude Part 2

**The Explorer and His Tech-Dude Part 2**

Usopp decided freezing his ass off was better than spending a few more minutes with Luffy. 

Ten minutes. Ten minutes was all it took for Usopp to lose a fraction of his lifespan. He could see the end of the tunnel. Literally and figuratively. This was not the first time that he had to escape from steroid fed goonies, also not the first time that he got trapped somewhere with Luffy. 'This is nothing' was what he thought. He kept repeating the thought until it calmed his nerves. It didn't sound that bad really, he had worse. But when your company was Monkey D. Luffy, it did get worse than worse. 

All went well really if Usopp didn't consider the ridiculous amount of bat shit and the bat-shit-loving bugs e.g fist size cockroaches and twelve-inch centipedes feasting on shit that Luffy deemed 'majestic'. Usopp had to comment on that but the idiot's reply made sense 'It provides nutrients for microorganism Usopp. Its useful in agriculture and did you know that the marines used the nitrate from the poop decades ago for explosives? How awesome is that!' 

Luffy was smart but he could've freaking used his brain in important matters and not explaining the importance of bat shit because that didn't help the olfactory assault that Usopp experienced. The rancid smell of urine and feces combined wafting around inside the cave irritated Usopp's eyes and lungs, which a non-genius like himself knew exactly where it came from: the 'majestic' mountain of malevolent excrement. It was pure horror. 

Usopp calculated they should reach the surface in ten minutes or so if what Luffy said was correct. The duo obviously didn't have the leisure to take their time and enjoy the view because they were freezing their ass off. But Luffy..oh Luffy the lunatic.. had to stop at every rock formation he found interesting and voiced out his thoughts. 'Ohhh Look Usopp, this one's shaped like meat, it looks yummy!' Oh this one looks like my hat! Awesome!' Look Usopp its just like your nose!Shishishi'. Usopp nostrils flared which was really bad with all the shit and stuff, red in his cheeks, a vein popping out of his forehead. Well, excuse Usopp and his long nose. He was born that way damn it! 

After an excruciating ten minutes of listening to Luffy's relentless ramblings on his scholarly knowledge about caves, that made Usopp's resolve to ignore the idiot crumble, Usopp wanted to detach Luffy's mouth from his face just to shut him up. All the maneuvering through jagged uneven cave floor, worming through tiny holes, slipping over loose stones littered on the ground and more bat shit, finally. Finally. They were outside. 

Usopp stood straight his mouth partly open, took a deep breath and slowly letting it out, savoring the fresh cold air. Tears pooled in his eyes, causing his vision to blur, not that Usopp would admit that, he was manly. Manly men didn't cry but the immense sense of relief and indescribable joy betrayed him. Usopp quickly brushed away the fresh tear that pooled in the corner of his eyes. He raised his arms to the sky, clasped his hands and yelled at the top of his lungs "Hallelujah!". He knelt down and kissed the ground not minding the cold that stung his chapped long-nosed man had never been so happy looking at a vast expanse of nothing but white. A thick blanket of pure white. Fluttering snowflakes, it was beautiful. 

Breath against the cold numbing air, Luffy blinked as snow sat heavy on his eyelashes. Howling winter breeze - piling up snow drifts - picked up across the field. His jet black hair tousled as the rigid breeze blew into his face. His sweat-slickened skin from all the crawling he'd done felt chilled after emerging from the cave. Fatigue took over rather than breathlessness, he should've conserved his energy. But the cave was just so mesmerizing, he couldn't help but get excited. 

Luffy hugged himself as winter breeze swirled around him causing the hair on his neck to rise and made him shudder. He expertly scanned the area but found no trace of his car. Something didn't seem quite right. He was conflicted, it was good that the goonies didn't get to follow them but the more they stay bare with their wet clothes in the freezing wind, the more likely they would get hypothermia and die. 

Who would've known that the Cipher Pol Organization would follow them inside the cave? Luffy was not careful enough, his movements were tracked. He cursed under his breath, he had led them to another clue. "Tsk." 

He didn't like how he endangered Usopp -again - but the circumstances were different from their past explorations. He needed Usopp's assistance, he was the only one in the team that could work with high-tech gadgets. If he brought a certain green haired man with him, the said man would probably get lost the moment he stepped inside the cave or worse even _before_ stepping inside the cave. Luffy admitted, lapses were made. He should've made sure that the cave had a signal so Usopp didn't need to join him. Luffy thought that he should leave Usopp somewhere safe next time, like in their base or something. If dangerous situations arise, Luffy would handle it himself. He did not want Usopp getting hurt or any friend he had. He made it this far keeping them safe, thus he would continue doing so. Though if his friends heard Luffy say these things, he'd get a beating and the divine punishment: abstinence from meat. He shuddered at the thought. But all Luffy really wanted was to never experience the pain of losing someone so precious, someone important again that it leaves a scar deeper than skin and hurt more than any wound. "Death leaves a heartache no one can heal." Luffy muttered to himself. 

Luffy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He shook his head, this was not the time to glance back at his past and mourn. He decided years ago to live in the moment where life was happening. 

Luffy shuddered, the wind was picking up, the palms of his hands were getting chilly. He cupped his hand, held it close to his mouth and puffed warm air on his hands. He his flexed limbs and moved his finger, rubbing them together. Now if only he could find his car. 

Luffy checked the area again. Looking around, squinting his eyes trying to make out his car through the snowy breeze. Did he fuck up? He tilted his head. That would be impossible. His car should be around here...somewhere... 

"Ussop, you placed a tracker on the car right? Can you locate it?" Luffy asked. Usopp nodded then promptly dropped his bag on the ground and took his notebook out. He turned it on and started navigating the gadget. 

Luffy winced as he checked the wound on his arm. He cringed at the horrible red blood seeping through the tied cloth, at least it was slowing down. Luffy crouched beside Usopp, he stared at the complicated shit flashing on the screen that made his head hurt. He watched Usopp fiddling around expertly on his notebook. Usopp's cool like that. Usopp had a natural talent when it comes to gadgets and tech shit, the exact opposite of Luffy. Usopp's expertise was beyond any other person he'd met and that included the World Government weirdos. Luffy could've never done anything without Usopp. 

Luffy was startled by a sudden strange beeping sound. It came somewhere inside the gadget, it was three short beeps followed by nonstop prolonged beeping. 

"Okay, found it. We're currently here" Usopp pointed a red dot on the screen "so we need to head east which is.." Usopp looked around " that side." The long-nosed man pointed at the vast snowfield. Luffy rolled his eyes, of course, he knew where east was. Usopp didn't have to point which side it was. He was just a bit disoriented that was why he forgot which area he hid his car... and no he was not being defensive. Luffy didn't roll like that...

"The car should be... let me see.. three kilometers from here. Not that far." Usopp informed. He placed his stuff back inside his bag as he saw Luffy stand up.

"Yosh! Let's go before we freeze. I'd like to have my fingers intact without frosbite.." 

The duo started walking briskly. The walk was not that exhausting compared to the cave but blasted freezing wind carrying half-iced pellets hit their faces as they walked towards the car. Wind seeped through their jackets and the water soaked in it started freezing. The wind howled and pierced right through their skin which numbed their exposed skin, triggering pain in their fingertips. Their feet started sinking in the thick snow with each stride. 

Luffy folded his hands and rested them on his chest, he walked closer to Usopp, shoulders rubbing against each other. Luffy welcomed the warmth and sighed. Usopp eyed Luffy suspiciously or more like questioning Luffy's sanity. Usopp raised his eyebrows. "What are you doing?" Luffy placed his right arm around Usopp's waist gently and slowly pulled him closer to his own body, a slip of paper couldn't even pass between them and nuzzled his face on Usopp's neck.

"What the fuck are you trying to do Luffy?!" Usopp yelped and jumped away from his friend's side, eyes wide in shock and disbelief. Luffy pouted and whined as the comforting warmth slowly dispersed.

"I-I-I have a girlfriend and- and- I'm straight!" Usopp shouted at his friend, hugging himself wary of Luffy's every move.

Wha-t? Luffy tilted his head, just what the hell was Usopp saying?..Oh..oh~ Luffy rolled his eyes. "It's called sharing body heat you dummy. Duh! You know, warming our bodies... in fact, we should even remove our clothing and lie down right next to each other, skin-to-skin contact. We can regulate our internal temperature like that." Luffy continued babbling about body heat and Usopp's eyes almost popped out of his head from sheer terror. He started coughing and choking with air the more Luffy explained.

"Shishishi, come here Usopp~ I know you want it~ Don't be shy~," Luffy said in a singsong voice as he teased his friend, snickering like a maniac and inching closer to Usopp, his fingers wriggling. Usopp stared at Luffy in horror. Usopp clutched the strap of his bag tightly. He suddenly bolted away from Luffy in full speed ignoring the blasting wind and kicking thick slabs of wet snow out of his way, screaming 'for the sake of my bum's purity'. 

Luffy ran after Usopp laughing like a lunatic, he chased Usopp and grabbed his backpack. Usopp struggled and finally escaped Luffy's clutch and ran even faster his chest heaving and running out of breath.

"Shishishi! Oh my god Usopp, you should've seen your face! I can't.. my stomach hurts. Shishishi" Luffy said through his laughs and panting, clutching his stomach from laughing too hard as he reached the car. Usopp hiding behind it. 

"Fuck you Luffy!" 

"Oh~ Usopp's so daring, I like that~" Luffy looked at Usopp with half-lidded eyes. "Shishishishi."

"Whatever! Just unlock the freaking car!" Usopp demanded, glaring at his howling friend. Luffy removed the white cover if the car and unlocked the door still laughing making Usopp curse over and over. Luffy looked around first before he entered the car to clear the sneaking suspicion in the back of his mind that someone may be following them. Contented, that it was safe, Luffy sat in the driver's seat. The raven head removed his jacket and unceremoniously threw it at the back seat where Usopp's jacket and bag also laid. 

Usopp's mouth gaped as the engine started. He slowly turned his head to Luffy who was grinning and tapping the steering wheel, his lithe fingers grasping the wheel tight.

"Uh... ? We're gonna swap right? I mean, I should... drive.. your arm's hurt... Right?" Usopp prayed internally, hoping the gods are on his side today. He did not want to die via car fucking crash. He survived the rotting cave and the fucking blizzard for fuck sake, dying in a car after those things seemed so counterproductive.

Luffy nodded. He turned on the stereo, played Bohemian Rhapsody and maxed the volume.

"Wait Luf-" The music muffled Usopp's voice as Luffy squinted, eyes focused on the path and stepped on the gas. "Here we go!" Luffy yelled, grinning from ear to ear. Usopp swore he saw Satan himself sitting beside him, driving the car.

Ussop leaned against the seat, hands trying to find the seat belt and hung on for dear life. Luffy sped up, they were running at 180 mph in the freaking snow. Luffy's hands consciously light on the steering wheel, his eyes looking at the vast white horizon. The snow flying off the side of the car, wind sound drowned out other noise but the stereo was still blasting the song. 

-I DONT WANNA DIEEEE! MAAAMAAAAA!" Usopp shrieked, eyes closed, knuckles white from gripping the seat hard.

"OHHHHHH~" Luffy replied singing along to the song. 

Usopp cursed the day Monkey D. Luffy was born. 

As soon as Luffy pulled off into an inn's parking lot, Usopp stumbled out of the car staggering and slammed himself into a railing as he lost his footing on the slippery ground, hurling whatever he ate for breakfast and lunch. Luffy kept laughing while rubbing Usopp's back. What a good friend he was. Luffy hoisted Usopp up and hauled him into their room.

Luffy fumbled in his jean's pocket for the key. He sighed when he found it and opened the door. Usopp was a mess, worse than having a hangover. He placed the man on his bed before closing the door behind them.

"Usopp, get your shit together. Shishishi" Usopp flipped a finger at Luffy as he sat up and went to the bathroom slowly. Luffy grabbed dry clothes from Usopp's luggage and gave it to the man. Luffy did feel guilty. A little guilty. Usopp leaned at the sink and stripped off his clothes and turned the knobs of the shower, steam coming out as the water trickled on his stiff body. He sighed in relief as the water warmed his body. He took his time showering when he got out Luffy was not in the room. He called out the man, but there was no reply. Usopp shrugged.

The long-nosed man scattered his gadgets all over the bed, sorting out what items could be saved. He lost three hard drives, a camera and broke his phone. Great. 

The door opened and Luffy came in bringing two shopping bags. Usopp assumed that the man returned the poor car to the rental shop. 

"Sup Usopp, feelin' better?" Luffy asked putting the contents of the bag into his bed. Fries and burgers, bottled water, plasters in a variety of different sizes and shapes, large sterile gauze dressings, antiseptic cream, and painkillers. He threw the burger at Usopp.

"Better now. You should go change. You may be an asshole and I hate you right now but I don't want you to get sick cause I'm a good friend." Usopp said as he chewed on the burger, reaching the bottled water at the opposite bed. He looked at the bloodied strip of cloth on Luffy's arm. "And we need to change that."

"Awww Usopp, you're so sweet. Want to share body heat again? shishishi"

"Ugh. Seriously, stop it."

"But you're so gullible! It's fun teasing you. Shishishi"

"Someday, somewhere, someone will do this shit to you and you will not enjoy it." Usopp deadpanned. Luffy just shrugged and went to the bathroom but stopped in the doorway. "Oh..by the way, can you check the memo- memory something in the camera, I hope it kept the pictures. Those images hold the next clue... as much as I loved exploring the cave, I'd rather not risk myself going back there, Lucci might be waiting. Fuck that guy. so... do something about it. It's in my jacket." Luffy said as he closed the bathroom door. "Thanks, Usopp" he added screaming. 

Usopp dug out the camera from Luffy's jacket. He groaned while disassembling the camera and pulled out the memory card. Usopp kept the pitiable gadget, painstakingly cleaning each part, he never knew when he'd need parts. He picked up the card reader lying on the bed and inserted the memory card. He connected the chord to his laptop and files popped out. 

The curly man scrunched his nose, he did not understand how Luffy could get anything from the odd doodles. A two-year-old kid's drawing was better than the images displayed on the screen. He tilted his head side to side, his hand on his chin, the weathered drawings were still impossible to read. 

The bathroom door creaked and Luffy came out with a towel draped low on his hips, water sliding down his chest trailing to his waist. A fluffy towel was placed on his head as he leisurely dried his messy black locks whipped across his boyish face. Luffy winced as he placed the towel on his bleeding arm. 

"Is it safe?" Luffy asked as he walked towards Usopp's bed. 

"Yeah, here." Usopp scooted away, giving Luffy space. "Looks like chicken scratch to me."Ussop grabbed the first aid kit that Luffy bought. He sat beside his friend and started dressing the wound, removing the towel Luffy wrapped around his arm. 

"Is this all of I- Fuck!" Luffy hissed. "Can you not press it hard please, it hurts man. Gimme the aspirin." Usopp sighed and picked up the bottle of water and the aspirin. "Here." Luffy eagerly gulped down the pill and threw the empty bottle into the trash bin. 

"Is this all of it?" Luffy asked again as he studied the images one by one. "Yep. Seriously man, I only see..hmm.. stick figures, a cube and ...what's that?" Usopp pointed at the image. 

"That's ancient writing," Luffy said.

"Can you read it?" 

"Not really, I can make out some figures..like the box, I'm sure it symbolizes a poneglyph and those things that you keep calling stick figures.. well.. they are stick figures.. depicting rituals I guess. But that won't help. I don't want to interpret it in the wrong way. Might lead us somewhere far from what we wanted to find." 

"So what are we gonna do?" Usopp popped the antiseptic cap and applied the cream to the wound. Luffy hissed, cursing under his breath, Usopp applied two pads over the wound just to make sure that it was bandaged in place. 

"I think we need Robin's help, she's better than me when it comes to ancient writings." Luffy sighed. "But I don't wanna drag her again. Last time, she got kidnapped because of us. I don't want that to happen again." Luffy stood up, thanking Usopp for fixing his arm. He slipped into his red pajamas and sat on his bed. 

"Hmm. Dude...Don't you think that Lucci and his goonies already found the painting or whatever that shit is."Usopp pointed at the picture on his notebook. 

Luffy's midnight black eyes widened. "Shit! Usopp, we're leaving tonight." Luffy bounced off the bed and hurriedly grabbed his luggage. "If they followed us all the way to the cave, they might already know where we're staying. Shit. I royally fucked up man." he added as he messily dumped his clothes inside the luggage. 

Usopp quickly gathered up the scattered items on his bed and dump it inside his own luggage, he looked at his friend, the dude was a master of his art, it was odd to see him panic. Luffy might be an idiot but he was so good at his game. Something was off. "Man, you okay? 

"Hmm? Well, my arm fucking hurts and I got bruises all over my body but the painkiller is helping-so I'm good." Luffy answered still focused on gathering his personal belongings.

"Not that man. I mean..you know.. in your mind." Usopp spoke softly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Luffy looked at his best friend, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not crazy Usopp." Luffy huffed.

"Not like that Luffy" Usopp sighed "What I mean is...have you been having nightmares again? cause it's weird seeing you fail at your game man. I don't mean to sound mean or something but that's how I see it right now. You can smack me if you want. If that will make you feel better, go ahead."

Luffy sat on his bed, kicking the luggage on the floor. He ran his hand through his damp hair and sighed. "Yeah..."

"Same nightmare?" Usopp frowned. "Wanna talk about it?" Luffy shook his head.

"It's okay, I'll be fine. Now.. let's go bef- **Knock. Knock. Knock.**.. Usopp yelped and covered his mouth. They weren't expecting any one and no one knew where they were..unless... 

Luffy tiptoed towards the door slipped on the side of the doorway. Luffy looked at Usopp and mouthed 'Gimme my knife' and pointed at his luggage. Usopp crawled towards the luggage and quietly rummaged through Luffy's clothes. He felt the switchblade under the pile of clothes, he pulled it out and threw it at Luffy. The raven head easily caught the knife. He pressed the button and the blade slid out of the hilt. Luffy signaled Usopp to hide behind the bed. Usopp nodded and hastily ducked behind the bed, he peeked underneath and saw Luffy's feet. 

**Knock. Knock. Knock.** This time it was a bit louder. 

Luffy could hear someone shuffling just outside the door then walking towards the window of the room. Luffy bit his lip, good thing they closed the curtains. The footsteps came back to the door... Before Luffy could turn the knob, there was a third loud tap on the door. 

**Knock. Knock. Kno-**

Without waiting for the last tap, Luffy took a deep breath, he was ready to get this over with, he was not going down without a swung the door open and jumped at the person standing in the doorway, gripping the knife tightly. 

The man screamed in an unmanly way. Luffy tilted his head, looming at the man. The stranger's eyes were wide obviously scared shitless. His red cap fell on the damp pavement... Luffy's eyes swept over the man... 

"Don't kill me please!" the man shrieked, tears pooling in his eyes, his body was shaking as Luffy remained straddled on top of him, the knife still an inch above his throat. 

Usopp hurriedly ran towards the door.. his eyes settled and shifted between the man and Luffy... 

the man... 

Luffy... 

the man... 

a cap... 

the boxes... 

pizza splattered on the ground... 

... 

"Shiiit." Usopp could feel a menacing aura coming from Luffy as he slowly turned his head and faced Usopp like one of those horror films... "Usopp.," Luffy muttered in a cold voice, a devilish grin on his boyish face. 

* * *

Clicking heels, security areas beeping, infants crying, toddlers running to and fro about the pale white floor. Restless people wandering through airport boutiques hauling their belongings. Exasperated faces trying to travel through the crowded hallway of the airport dodging carts and rushing people. Tourists inquiring about their flights, two women arguing causing a ruckus in the corner of the hall and prying folks. 

Usopp stood among the ruckus of people, nursing a bump on his head, towing two pieces of luggage. "I told you... I forgot! I'm sorry!" He pleaded at the still fuming raven head beside him, the man's straw hat hung on his neck bouncing up and down at every step he took. 

"I MURDERED PIZZAS USOPP -A WHOLE FREAKING FAMILY OF PIZZAS! Do you even know how tragic that is?! Luffy barked with a clenched jaw. He was not satisfied that he only gave Usopp one punch..two or three more would suffice and satisfy his anger. 

Usopp stood frozen and turned his head to his friend , eyes wide and mouth agape in disbelief, then in shock. "Really Luffy? You're more worried about the goddamn pizza? What about the man?!" 

Luffy crossed his arms on his chest, gaze piercing Usopp's face and scoffs. "Yeah? What about the man Usopp? What about him?" he said in a sardonic manner. "I'm _not_ the one who freaking _forgot_ that he ordered pizza! What if i killed the man -huh,Usopp? I don't have powers to resurrect him, _that's_ for sure!" Luffy added flailing his arms all over Usopp's face. 

Ussop bit his lips, he felt guilty. But the damage was done. He just have to suck it up and try to coax Luffy. 

"Uh..umm.. You- you can always gather the seven balls of dragons." Usopp said sheepishly glancing at his friend. 

"Well duh.. I would've used it for the pizza." Luffy casually said without a trace of hesitation as he started walking towards the ticketing booth. 

'What the fuck' was all that came out of Usopp's gaping mouth. 

* * *

**-guilty-**

 **Disclaimer:** One piece is not mine. It belongs to the Great Oda-Sensei.

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal" - this line came from this full quote

""Death leaves a memory no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal" - Richard Puz, The Carolinian

I mentioned Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen (Classicssss 3) which obviously also ain't mine.

 **-guilty-**

In this fic, Cipher Pol is not connected to the World Government. It's an independent organization :D

The straw hats are coming soon~ and oh, our favorite surgeon - Torao :3

Hope you guys enjoy :D

 **-guilty-**


	3. The Explorer's Past and Exciting Present

Hi guys! Thank you so much for the kind reviews! Guilty appreciates it a lot!

Just a heads up, this chapter might contain some sad stuffs for Luffy. (I dont really know if i wrote it in a sad way) I hope i did justice writing it though, am still getting used to writing and stuff :D.

And yoooo! 7.7k words! Chapter's quite long with tons of dialogue.

Hope you guys enjoy!

 **The Explorer's Past and His Exciting Present**

Flying 40,000 feet above land would strike as by far the most thrilling thing for most people and that includes Luffy. The adrenaline rush he felt as the plane shook as it took off, the roller coaster ride sensation as the plane ascended slowly adjusting its route, the breathtaking view and the feeling of being suspended mid-air was exhilarating for the straw-hatted man.

True, he enjoyed flying.. or sort of. Depends actually.

Don't get Luffy wrong, he was not afraid of heights. That would be utterly ridiculous! Extremely preposterous! Heights screamed 'danger' it was on Luffy's bucket list along with exploring uncharted lands, fighting wild beasts, trekking through volcanoes. And boy, Monkey D. Luffy - the man, the myth, the legend - loved danger. The D in his name probably meant Danger or something. He had to ask old Mr. Google for that.

But flying and getting trapped in a metal tube with wings for long hours was a different issue. Though proven as a fun-loving, adventure-obsessed being, Luffy hated... no... Hated seemed like an understatement. Loathed sounded close but still not the accurate word... Abhorred... Yes, Luffy abhorred long-haul flights just like his downright hatred for those green abominations called vegetables.

It was self-torture. Stuck in a tight-spaced seating, limited food - the flight attendant didn't allow Luffy to buy all the snacks-, not being able to move freely for hours after they had him strapped into the chair for running back and forth through the aisle and attempting to pilot the goddamn plane himself. Absolute torture. If he gets deep vein thrombosis after the flight, he'd sue the airlines. Luffy wiggled his body and sighed deeply as his struggle deemed useless. Skydiving without the actual parachute almost sounded appealing for the raven-haired explorer.

Worse, his so-called best friend wasn't really trying to hide how amused he was watching Luffy strapped in a chair. The snickers he heard came from Usopp, Luffy was hundred percent sure about that. Did Usopp like BDSM? Luffy grimaced internally, he didn't really want to see _that_. Nuh uh. The thought of it almost made him gag. No pun intended.

Oh, how Luffy would love to open the fucking emergency exit beside Usopp and just shove him right out of the plane. (Okay, he was still mad about the pizza incident.) Luffy considered it for a moment but eventually decided it was unreasonable of him even if pizzas were involved. Jeopardizing the safety of the other passengers for Usopp's demise was a big no-no. He'd think of something else.

Maybe Usopp cursed him the raven head thought. That would explain the treatment he was getting at the moment. Usopp did say something about someone making fun of Luffy and he won't like it or something like that. He glared at Usopp, Luffy would find a way to counter the curse and give it back tenfold to Usopp. Luffy was supposed to be the one to make his friends lives a living hell and not the other way around.

Luffy huffed, avoiding his friend's snickering face. Luffy would think of ways to make Usopp's life more miserable than it already was. Usopp could laugh all he wants, Luffy would plan the most intricate means of Usopp's impending doom. *insert evil laugh*

* * *

The raven-haired explorer had been staring rudely at the blinking seat-belt sign for more than an hour. His eyes were getting teary focusing on the light. He moved his hands and wriggled his fingers to reduce the stiffness from being tied up against the armrest. At least the flight attendant had the decency to untie his wrists. He shuffled in his seat, head turned slightly to the side checking his friend. The man finally stopped snickering, probably bored and tired of watching Luffy suffer and slept.

Luffy's full pink lips curled up into a smile as his brown orbs lovingly gazed at the brimmed hat woven out of straw resting on his hands. Slim yet strong fingers caressed the rough edges of the yellow hat and tracing the red lace on its circumference. He embraced the comfort brought in by his hat. His only connection to his family. His treasure.

Treasure. Everything started because of treasures and greedy men.

Luffy bit his lip hard and tasted blood. He sighed. Innocent lives sacrificed because of humanity's greed and his family were one of those unfortunate victimized souls.

He sighed and slowly bowed his head, unconsciously gripping his hat tight as images of the past filled his thoughts.

Luffy was six when it all happened. Still so young, so innocent.

Luffy's parents had a deep fascination with ancient things - antiques. They weren't after their monetary value nor aesthetics, no. What they were after was knowing the hidden story of each item, their historical significance no matter how small it was. Luffy vaguely remembered but their home had a room full of his parent's collections. From furniture, pieces of jewelry, firearms, you name it all and his parents would have one or two more of each kind. Luffy and his older brother Ace would sneak inside and read the descriptions written on a white sheet of paper posted below the items. It topped the list of their favorite past time other than wreaking havoc in their home.

Sitting in his chair motionlessly, eyes looking far. Luffy tried to push the thoughts away but the scenes played in his head as if it only happened yesterday. He remembered a familiar sickening musty scent filling his nose. His vision covered with deep shades of red - blood. Scarlet blood seeped into the cream-colored carpet, contrast striking and vivid. Desperate bloodcurdling screams tore through Luffy like shards of broken glass.

In one night, he lost everything.

His parents, Ace and him were lounging in the living room eating popcorn as they watched a movie. It was one of those nights where his parents just got home from their travels and wanted to make up for the time lost to Luffy and his brother. It was blissful and picturesque - one happy family spending time enjoying themselves, laughing over silly jokes and poking each other for stealing snacks from the other- until an ear-shattering sound of glass breaking and shrill alarm blasted through the living room devoured the teasing and giggles.

Luffy remembered how four masked men with white capes surrounded them. Guns pointed at their heads, they were tied up. His father and mother were violently dragged to their bedroom pleading to let Luffy and Ace go. It went unnoticed. Those men didn't care. Luffy and his brother were on the other side of the room - a library connected to their parent's bedroom.

Luffy could hear his father's agonizing screams and his mother's desperate pleading through her sobs. He saw Ace struggled and squirmed trying to untie the ropes that were wrapped around his body. One man viciously kicked his brother in the stomach, Ace was sent rolling, his knees hunched against his stomach, cries muffled against the tape covering his mouth as his chest frantically heaved gasping for air.

Luffy was helpless. He couldn't do anything but scream his brother's name. A sob chokes Luffy's throat and he began to shake. He whimpered as a sudden pang of pain made his head throb and throwing him to the carpeted floor, he felt something warm dribbled down his forehead, stinging his tear-filled eyes. Sweat, tears, blood, and snot clung to his small chubby face and freely ran down his cheeks and chin, leaving stains on the cream carpet.

The door to his parent's room opened, his father and mother were on their knees, their blood and tear-streaked face filled his vision. His stomach dropped seeing a man kicked his father while his mother kept begging for them to stop. The men clad in white kept asking something Luffy couldn't comprehend through the muffled cries and whimpers and every time his parents shook their heads, they get another blow in the face.

Luffy traced the scar below his left eye. He remembered the man who slapped him grabbed a fistful of his hair, dragging him up like a ragged doll and through the tear and blood-drenched eyes he saw a glint of silver. The sound of his parent's begging and Ace's muffled words echoed in his head. The gut-wrenching scream coming out of his tiny body as something cold pierced through the skin below his eye causing a searing pain.

Then came the sirens... Now that Luffy thought about it, it was just like the movie they watched before the incident happened. They were judging the police for coming late at the scene...How fitting.

The vivid image of the gun placed on his parent's temple as the four men panicked flashed in Luffy's head. They were screaming. Through the screams, he heard his mother said 'close your eyes'. Luffy looked at his brother, Ace was closing his eyes. So Luffy did too. He heard a man laugh, a mocking laugh. Then brutal loud gunshots rang through the air and in his ears. He opened his eyes and saw his parent's lifeless body on the floor their blood pooling on the carpet. On the corner of his tear-filled eyes, he saw Ace's tackle the man and there goes another shot. A high-pitched ringing sound tore his ears. He closed his eyes waiting for his turn... But it never came... He once wished it came. All he felt was his tiny body thrown mid-air and slammed into a wall.

Back pushed against the chair of the plane, Luffy couldn't breathe. There wasn't any air. He felt his chest being squeezed. Luffy clenched and unclenched his fist. He took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled in his mouth, trying to ease down his rapid heartbeat as he kept repeating the same action until he could normally breath. He pressed a button to call a flight attendant and asked her for water. Luffy gulped down one glass and asked for more. Wiping his sweaty face, Luffy sighed. He ran his hands through his messy midnight black hair over and over.

After the incident, Luffy met someone who he thought didn't exist, he never heard of the man, not from his parents. Not from anyone. The man proved himself to be the only surviving member of his family and took Luffy under his wing. Luffy was cautious at first, but the DNA tests made him at ease (Luffy asked for it) and well, the man did resemble his father. Though after that, he never got his freedom anymore.

The personal guards following him everywhere and thought they were subtle enough that a six-year-old kid won't notice. Oh, they were so wrong. They were so goddamn obvious, even a blind man can actually see them. And the room he was trapped in was suffocating enough but his guardian had to throw in grown ass men to try and cheer up him up. They failed miserably.

When Luffy told his guardian that he wanted to go to a normal school he had to fight his way through the man's thick skull. Luffy called that moment 'The War of the Flying Utensils.' The old man eventually agreed but in one condition, Luffy had to do a makeover, a new identity. Luffy was cool with that and whoever decided to make Luffy look like hot damn Legolas should get a raise.

Luffy may have whined, complained and fought with his guardian but he understood that it was for his safety and he just loved giving the man hell. Though the painstaking boring therapy sessions that he had to attend every-single-fucking-day -because apparently, Luffy smiling even after the incident was plain creepy- made him question his existence. What's so wrong with smiling, would they rather want the adorable six-year-old Luffy to succumb in agony? Would they rather see him cry every time, lament, get depressed? Adults. They were so hard to understand. Of course, he felt insecure, pained, angry, guilty and void. Luffy longed for his family but he knew his family would not like it if he was sad. So he made himself stronger but sometimes Luffy's young heart couldn't handle the loss and he would cry for days. But soon, he realized that crying won't bring his family back. Nothing will. Luffy became an adult at the tender age of six.

Luffy couldn't stop himself from asking questions. He kept asking the gray-haired man who took him in questions about his family. Reasons. Anything. Just to find closure. There were days when he wanted to avenge his family's death. He thought ways of torture so inhuman, Satan would give him a medal. But he shook it all, his family would never want Luffy to stain his hands with blood. They were like that, loving and forgiving people. It was painful for Luffy but for their memory, Luffy followed the lessons they engraved in his young heart and soul. But that didn't stop him from finding the truth and taking action. Revenge comes in different forms after all.

He never stopped sneaking inside his guardian's office, Luffy knew the man was hiding things from him just because he was a kid. He had the right to know everything, his family died leaving him behind and damn he deserved to know why. Luffy was nineteen when finally -after years of fruitless attempts- his guardian slipped and left documents on his desk related to Luffy's family and the people behind their deaths.

Using the reason that he was fed up of being treated as a 'delicate princess'. Luffy guilt-tripped his guardian into allowing him to 'explore' the world. He could recall the man's face when he told him he wanted to drop out of school. He looked like it was the end of the world. The man was quite overdramatic. Luffy's guardian was against it but he couldn't have done anything. With or without his permission, Luffy would do what he wanted, he was as stubborn as an incurable strain of virus and he would do whatever the fuck he wanted to do.

After two years of dropping off the radar, he came back and damn was Usopp's reaction fucking priceless. The long-nosed man thought Luffy was a burglar and Luffy had to jujutsu the shit out of Usopp for he was about to call the cops. Four excruciating hours of Luffy explaining and Usopp getting tied up in a chair with a gag in his mouth before his best friend finally realized that yes... Monkey D. Fucking Luffy - the raven-haired man with a straw hat in front of him- was, in fact, the same long silver-haired straw-hatted kid with emerald green eyes a.k.a Legolas that grew up with him, went to the same school and became his best friend. Surprise bitches!

Luffy didn't give a fuck anymore, he dyed his hair back to its natural color and removed his contacts. He was finally himself. Free of the shackles of his past. There was no point in hiding anymore. Cipher Pol knew he survived, though it took them thirteen years. They had to be complete imbeciles -well a certain pink-haired idiot was- if they didn't figure out who Luffy was. Luffy infiltrated their ranks and stole the clues they deciphered throughout all those years and saved Nico Robin, a renowned archeologist, and archaeolexicologist who vanished years ago after her discovery of an ancient artifact. Damn, they really needed to step up. Thirteen years was way too long to find one damn treasure.

What happened for those past three years got him this far. Luffy riding on a plane with a wound on his arm, almost had a panic attack but he was fine now, all sorted out and calm, nothing to worry about (he actually thanks his psychologist for that). And yes, still trying to stop himself from taking over the goddamn cockpit.

* * *

The massive piece of metallic tube had landed safely in Goa after six boring hours and Luffy woke the drool bathe Usopp up. The raven head had enough of the cramped space and would offer half of his meat allowance just to leave the damned plane. When Luffy offers meat, it meant he was in deep crisis, _real deep crisis_. He stretched his body and grabbed their luggage in the compartment above his head. The duo walked out of the plane. Luffy didn't forget to glare at the flight attendant that tied him up. What a bitch.

One of the inconveniences of infiltrating the headquarters of a treasure-obsessed cult with weird pointy party hats and white capes was Luffy not having a sense of peace when he was out in the open. He knew two organizations had eyes everywhere looking for a certain raven head. Yes, two. Cipher Pol and The World Government. Luffy hated that he didn't have the chance to check the food corner because of those killjoys. The explorer pouted and scanned the area. No weirdos in black suits and sunglasses skulking in corners. Check.

Deeming the area safe enough, Luffy and Usopp inconspicuously blended into the crowd and headed for the airport's exit. Having someone exceptional in making illicitly modified genuine passports and documents really helped Luffy with all his travels. His papers were all so flawless, immigration officers don't even bat an eye. He got to give props to an orange haired bombshell behind it all - Nami, the team's mistress of fraud and whom the World Government calls Cat Burglar.

The Straw Hats and 'the' World Government didn't really have a good relationship and well, not entirely bad either. Luffy liked to assume that they were frenemies. Luffy's ways of discovering treasures and uncovering uncharted territories involved ways that weren't entirely..err.. _legal_. A man's got to do what a man's gotta do Luffy thought and having a bunch of rowdy folks blacklisted by the World Government as a crew spoke volumes about Luffy and The WG's relationship.

Luffy couldn't be happier if the WG focus on the real threat - the Cipher Pol, rather than catching Luffy's plump ass. Seriously, they ought to get their priorities straight. Luffy thought the government really needed to give them credit, it wasn't like they didn't 'subtlely' -knock out every guard- break-in into government-owned premises to leave the found treasures. Luffy and his crew only kept 5% percent and that's split- much to Nami's disappointment. Luffy and the government existed in a weird symbiotic relationship yet Luffy and his team didn't get pardoned, such ungrateful old men.

Usopp and Luffy approached a black car parked in an alley a few blocks away from the airport. Usopp sighed, at least this time the driver's on time and actually in the right location. The black car's tinted windows rolled down revealing a bright green shaggy-haired man with a scar running down over his left eye with his usually stoic face, three golden earrings blinding Usopp as the setting sun reflected on them. Usopp thought Luffy should reconsider how he puts the team in certain tasks. Letting a severely directionally challenge marimo drive and fetch them was such a bad idea.

"Zoro!" Luffy beamed dashing towards the car and diving into the open window like a dolphin in an aquarium show. 'And there he goes' Usopp thought.

Zoro who was sitting in the driver's seat grunted as a body hit him straight in the rib. Luffy and his weird ways of greeting, at least Zoro wasn't showered with sloppy kisses all over his face this time. The green haired man had to restrain Luffy for that, a certain blondie got jealous and shit happened. That can't be avoided when your boss/captain was an idiot who didn't give a fuck about personal space and boundaries.

"I'm impressed you actually got here on time Zoro and in the right location too." Usopp had to voice out his thoughts. It was indeed impressive in Zoro's sad case.

"Shut up Usopp and get your ass in the car." Zoro groaned, he would appreciate it if his 'friends' didn't give a huge emphasis on his condition, it was not a problem at all. Usopp immediately threw the luggage on the back and slipped inside the car.

"Wait, I'll drive." Usopp said and Zoro scowled. "Fine." Luffy squirmed into the backseat to sit with Zoro and placed his head on Zoro's lap. The green haired man just rolled his eyes.

"Shishishi, bet we're gonna take hours longer than the plane ride if Zoro drives."

"Oh fuck off!" the man groaned, smacking Luffy's forehead.

"I don't even wanna know why you asked him when in fact you know full well Zoro has 99.9% chance of getting lost." Usopp said as the car started and drove off. Luffy pouted. "But that's the point Usopp! Can you not see the big picture here?!" Luffy sat up and gasped, looking flabbergasted.

"And that is?" Zoro and Usopp answered at the same time.

Luffy looked at them like they were the dumbest organisms in the entire universe. "Tsk. It's like this... No one can follow Zoro in the first place if he himself doesn't know where he's going!" Usopp pondered for a bit and made sense.

"Oi! What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Zoro scowled, if Zoro's good eye could shoot a green laser beam, Luffy would've had a hole on his forehead due to the intensity of Zoro's glare.

"Don't worry Zoro, I meant well. Shishishi. You're a genius, is all. Shishishi." Luffy said as he patted the green haired man's shoulder. "And oh Usopp do you wanna know how I met Zoro? Shishishi." Zoro's eye widened, that was meant to be their secret. Fucking Luffy and his big mouth.

"Oh yeah, how did you guys exactly meet actually? I know how the others met Luffy since I'm the fourth person in the team after a nightmare reunion." Usopp's nape hair stood up and his body shivered. Goddamn Luffy and the nightmares he gave him.

"You wouldn't believe it! Shishishi. He got lost an-" Luffy's storytelling was cut off just before it started when Zoro placed a hand on his mouth. "You better not." Zoro warned. Luffy bit the hand on his mouth and Zoro immediately moved his hand and checked if it was bleeding. "What the fuck Luffy?" Zoro really needed to reevaluate his life choices.

Usopp just shook his head as he checked what happened in the rear-view mirror. Idiots.

"But I wanna tell Usopp and you're being a spoilsport! Boo boring Zoro." the raven head man whined and stuck his tongue out. If Zoro was not a decent man with full respect on this moron, Luffy would be sliced into there parts by now. Still, it didn't stop Zoro from imagining those shit. Luffy just had that trait that pisses people off but you couldn't harm him cause that's just how Luffy was - a moron."Fine. It's not like I can fucking stop you anyways." He groaned and closed his eyes.

"Shishishi, so it's like this ...hmmm...Meh, I changed my mind." Luffy deadpanned and his two companions shook their heads. Maybe they needed to shake Luffy's head too, just to make it work properly. Albeit it was beyond saving.

The car lurched as it turned into a dirt road that lead to Mount Colbo. A thick stretch of wood lined both sides of the road, the sun dipping behind giving out hues of orange light. Usopp maneuvered through dirt paths and uphill pathways. It was night time when Usopp stopped the car in a small clearing in the middle of the forest.

The smell of damp leaves, hoots of night birds and wind rustling gave out a creepy vibe for Usopp. Only minuscule drops of moonlight passed through the thick canopy. The long-nosed man opened the trunk and woke the two sleeping figures in the backseat. Luffy skipped out of the car and stretched his stiff body. Zoro carried the luggage and walked into the covers of darkness.

"Why did you choose this place for our base again? You know we could've just chosen an abandoned warehouse in Edge town or something, it's not like Franky can't make an underground base with high-tech shit and stuffs." Usopp sighed as he and Luffy walked side by side towards the dark path. Franky really needed to put lights here he thought. Not that he was scared... of course not... it- it- was for convenience.

"You watch too much spy movies." Luffy clicked his tongue." And that's no fun Usopp, It's awesome here, the city is noisy and it sucks." Luffy said looking disgusted, sounds of crushed leaves echoed in their every step. "And in here, it is peaceful, there's a lot of animals to hunt for food, we can fish in the river too.

Of course, that would be Luffy's answer, Ussop sighed. "I thought you liked spy movies?" Luffy shrugged and muttered 'Ninja's are better' under his breath.

"And that's why supermarkets exist Luffy, so we can buy food there and we don't need to hunt like primitive humans," Usopp added.

"You just don't understand it Usopp. I pity you." Luffy patted Usopp's shoulder and Usopp could make out Luffy's sad face in the dimly lit forest actually feeling sorry for him like Usopp didn't know what he was missing. The long-nosed man didn't know what to feel about it but it was close to feeling insulted.

"The mountain screams adventure Usopp!" Usopp facepalmed. Why did he bother to ask Luffy again? He didn't know.

The duo stood in front a small log cabin lit with yellow incandescent lights. Zoro sat in a reclining chair waiting for Usopp and Luffy. Luffy knocked on the door three times and a blue haired man opened the door.

"Oh Luffy, Usopp, Zoro! It's supah nice to have you guys back!" Franky, the team's mechanic and engineer greeted the trio. Luffy and Usopp hugged the big guy while Zoro dragged the luggage towards the fireplace.

The cabin itself wasn't much, it was a plain square cabin with only one room. A red rug was placed in the middle of the everything, a checkered patterned couch, a small table with two wooden chairs and a wall mounted antlers above the fireplace. Franky pulled the antlers and a hatched appeared in the fireplace, there was a staircase leading underground.

The group headed downstairs, only meeting a dead end. Luffy tilted his head. This wasn't like this before he left for Drum Kingdom. Luffy and Usopp started complaining but Franky asked them to stay shush. The blue haired guy said his name and the wall opened up.

"Holy shit! Voice-goddamn-activated!" Usopp gaped. "That's dope, Franky!" The blue haired man raised both of his hands for his famous pose and screamed supah. Usopp and Franky walked in and talked about their 'geek shit' - according to Luffy's vocabulary. Zoro stared at the frozen Luffy, eyes sparkling Zoro could actually see stars. "Luffy let's go. Gawk later." The man complained.

"Man I'm so glad Franky's with us!" The raven head beamed. He sniffed and started drooling. "Sanjiiiiiiii! Foood!" Luffy dashed into the room leaving Zoro behind.

What was located under the cabin was nothing like an underground. The walls were reinforced concrete filled with paintings, a chandelier in the middle of the lounge, an entire side of the massive room was an aquarium beautifully decorated with aquatic plants, rocks, stones and driftwoods arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner filled with different kinds freshwater fish. A dark marble bar counter was placed beside the aquarium. A double door could be seen opposite of the lounge which leads to the kitchen and dining room, library, infirmary and the team's sleeping quarters.

Before Luffy could reach the kitchen where the drool-inducing scent came from, a doe-eyed brown haired teen stood in front of him with arms around on his chest. Luffy paused stared at the teen. "Luffy! Your arm!" The teen started panicking and calling for a doctor and suddenly paused. "Oh wait that's me." Luffy was tiptoeing away from the brown haired teen. "Where do you think you're going?! You need to go to the infirmary!"

"But Choppppeeer! I'm hungry!" Luffy whined as he was being dragged by Chopper, a 16-year-old genius Luffy saved from being a lab rat of a group of doctors that studied the human brain called Isshi-20. Chopper then joined the Straw Hats and became a self-taught doctor in the span of six months.

"Stop squirming Luffy, what if it gets infected!" Chopper sounded stern making Luffy give up his quest for Sanji's food and looking dejected and lifeless.

"Don't be a dumbass Luffy, just get patched up and I'll prepare the table." Sanji, the team's chef said, his blond hair poking through the double kitchen counter.

After what seemed like an eternity for the hungry Luffy, Chopper dragged him out of the infirmary and into the dining room. The whole crew was waiting for them. Usopp, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Robin, Franky and their musician Brook sat in their respective seats and greeted the raven head. "I missed you guys!" Luffy beamed as he sat in his chair. Sanji opened the platters and Luffy immediately dove in and shoved meat into his mouth.

"Luffy, did you get any treasure?" The cat burglar asked gold bars could be seen in her eyes. Luffy shook his head and Nami cursed under her breath muttering 'What's the point of going there if you didn't get any treasure'.

"How was the expedition Luffy?" Robin asked. Luffy frowned, food spilling out of his mouth. The group stopped eating and all eyes on the raven head. The raven head started talking but only incomprehensible muffled noises came out of his stuffed mouth.

"Idiot, don't talk when your mouth is full!" Sanji bickered. "Usopp, mind explaining what happened?" Usopp explained the events that happened in the cave and the painting that they discovered throughout the entire duration of the meal.

"Luffy, Usopp. I'm glad both of you didn't slip and impale your heads with a stalagmites or lose your limbs with the grenade." Robin calmly said wiping her lips with a table napkin. Usopp's mouth almost dropped and hit the ground, something's terribly wrong with Robin's brain. And somewhere deep within Usopp cringe at the thought that the woman actually wanted to see them lose limbs and shit. Why was Usopp surrounded by weirdos? The long-nosed man slouched on his chair.

"So there's a chance that they're onto us?" Zoro asked raising an eyebrow and picking his tooth, his legs stretched on the table only earning a kick from the blond chef and before they could start going at each other's throats Nami punched both of them. Nami scoffed, the marimo and the curlycue could stop their shitty acting, everyone already knows what's up with them in the first place.

Luffy shoved one last meat into his mouth and gulped it down in one go. "That seems to be the case. I made sure we weren't followed here though. There's a big chance that they're already starting to decipher the clue."

"Then.. we should start working on it then. We wouldn't want them to get ahead of us and get the treasure first. If it really exists." Nami said.

"Nami is right Luffy, we should start decoding it," Robin added.

"Alright." Luffy got up from his chair and rubbed his tummy. "Usopp print the images and bring them to the library. Robin and me will be waiting." Luffy and Robin walked towards the library leaving the others behind. When Luffy was out of their peripheral the crew started talking.

Brook sipped tea from his flask. "You seldom see Luffy act serious, bask in it. Take it in and enjoy the view."

* * *

Luffy couldn't count how many times he had been sighing for the entire night. He dropped his head on the desk and pulled his messy black hair. Robin and him had been looking at the photos scattered all over the desk for god knows how long but they were getting nowhere. Luffy admired Robin's patience with dealing with his whining if it was Nami, he'd be bruised and battered by now. He's getting hungry again and Sanji already slept. Luffy and his first world problems.

The raven head sighed for the umpteenth time . He looked at Robin who was intently staring at the photos placing them side by side. Luffy pulled himself out of his sorry state and headed to the ceiling-high bookshelf on the far end of the library. He scanned the books one by one and finally found his notes. Flipping the pages slowly, Luffy walked back to where Robin was sitting.

"Robin, do you think we missed something from the old clues?" Luffy said without looking up at the black-haired beauty as he placed the notes on the desk still flipping through the pages.

Robin hummed. "I don't think so Luffy. Since it already lead us to the next ones, I don't think they have any use anymore. But I guess it's worth a shot to examine them again."

"Okay, the first one was a simple poem." Luffy opened the page of the note where the first clue was written and showed it to Robin.

 ** _Ruined Kingdom, once stood tall_**

 ** _A Great Tree, fought through Fall_**

 ** _Oh worthy one, hear its call_**

 ** _For the Core, does not open for all._**

"This one lead us to the Great Adam tree in Kuraigana Island. Where you gents had to fight those humandrills. I'm surprised Zoro didn't die." Luffy shook his head, Robin, and her morbid thoughts. "And it took us forever to find a secret compartment where we found a box in the tree after inspecting it from its roots to its leaves. God that was torture, the tree was colossal." Robin said. Luffy was surprised to hear the calm woman complain. Oh well, guess Robin got pissed with that too just like everyone else. Who wouldn't? The place was full of bugs and Nami and Usopp wouldn't stop screaming every goddamn minute.

"Then the box had inscribed letters and numbers and contained an hourglass filled with sand. That one made my brain rot." Luffy huffed. "Without Nami we wouldn't have noticed that those numbers were actually coordinates. I blamed the hourglass, it was goddamn deceiving. I thought it referred to time...cause you know, hourglass, numbers and all that shit..." Robin nodded. " But now that I think about it, the sand might've come from Erumalu, the ruined ancient city in Alabasta where the coordinates pointed."

"True, we could've deciphered it faster if we broke the glass and studied the sand but that's blasphemy. It's an important part of history, it should be preserved." Robin firmly said while adjusting her reading glasses. Luffy grabbed his own pair of spectacles from the desk's drawer and wore it. He should've done it earlier.

"We found a poneglyph when I accidentally fell in the ruins." Luffy tapped the note.

"We should've brought it here, doesn't matter if we get squished and our eyes pop out of its sockets and our inside burst carrying it."

Luffy stared at Robin's furrowed eyebrows. "Shishishi, I know you're still touchy over that subject. Sorry Robin, but it's safer if the World Government holds it where Lucci and his goonies can't access it. But I guess that didn't matter, I got careless and lead them to the next clue in the end." Luffy facepalmed. He cursed himself for that. Right when they left the organization with wrong information, Luffy had to fuck it up. "Shit happens, huh."

"Luffy, don't stress about it. We'll find it." The woman smiled, she sat closer to Luffy to examine the notes, her slim long pale fingers trace on the note and hummed. "Then this" Robin pointed a line in the note "lead us to another clue."

 ** _Barren Lands froze in time_**

 ** _Bathe in Light yet Lurked in Darkness_**

 ** _Scripts written in eternal rhyme_**

 ** _Hidden deep from the world's Madness_**

"Shishishi we got lucky with that, it's good taking things literally sometimes," Luffy remembered how the crew had to list all the islands in the world that has constant winter and had cave systems that weren't following explored. The list came down to Drum Kingdom and Karakuri Island and since the World Government had a base in Karakuri Island, Luffy decided to start at Drum Kingdom and Voilà! Luffy and Usopp found the next clue. Now if only Robin and him could start getting something out of these damned pictures.

"Hmmm, then... Maybe we should take the pictures literally? Let's assume that this depicts the process of making the poneglyphs." Robin picked an enlarged picture of the cave drawings and pointed at the figures.

"It does look like it, that's what I thought the first time I saw it. The one on the bottom part of the photo looks like they're mixing something... and the second part looks like they're molding the cube." Luffy squinted his eyes to see the image properly.

"The third figure, I'm sure of it, is depicting how the ancient civilization who made the poneglyphs wrote encrypted messages on the cubes," Robin added, eyes gleaming. "And this" Robin pointed the written ancient language below the drawing "did have missing words but it says 'first, record, time, journey'."

"Okay, assuming they meant, that the drawing above is the first record of their civilization. Then what does the time and journey mean?" Luffy rubbed his temples. His tummy grumbled and Robin chuckled.

Robin tapped her fingers on the desk. " The first record of their time and they embark on a journey?" Luffy blurted out. "Or probably I'm just making this shit up," Luffy grunted and started bumping his head on the desk. The mess was straining his brain. "I need foooood Robin. I'm dying. Meeeeeeeaaaattttttttt."

Robin chuckled. "Go wake Sanji. The fridge's locked Luffy."

"I know. Stupid Sanji and his stupid lock." Luffy whined. Luffy forced himself to inspect the pictures one more time. If both him and Robin couldn't find anything, then he had to go to sleep before he transformed into the hulk and destroy the fridge. Luffy did not want to wake up Sanji and relive the horror of seeing the blond and a certain marimo go at _it._ Luffy cringed at the vivid image that popped out in his mind.

"Luffy, what if it means we just have to find the _first_ ...very first poneglyph ever created?" Robin stared at Luffy wide-eyed.

Luffy stared right back at Robin wide-eyed and jaw hanging. "Ho-Holy shit Robin... That...that actually makes sense! The images.." Luffy lifted each picture and compared them one by one " They just _really_ show how the ancient civilization freaking made the poneglyphs!" Luffy jumped Robin and hugged the older woman.

"Okay, Luffy relax." Robin left Luffy's bear hug. Robin ran her fingers through her long black silky hair. " That means we have to go to Raftel. Specifically the World Government HQ." Luffy bit his lips. Now that's shit. " That's where they placed Rio Poneglyph, the only poneglyph that explains the events that happened during the 800 void years that only the top ranks of the World Government can access. They literally built the HQ above it."

Luffy closed his eyes in thought. "Don't they keep records of that? Like written in books maybe?"

The door of the library opened. Luffy and Robin turned around and saw Nami rubbing her eyes and wearing her orange silk nightdress followed by Usopp. "Hey guys," she said with a yawn. "Still not done?"

"Almost there. Not really sure yet but might as well give it a try." Robin answered.

Luffy winked at Usopp, raising his eyebrows and a sneaky smile on his lips. "Usopp, I'll tell Kaya. Shishishi".

Usopp tilted his head, his long curly hair messily swung sideways. "What do yo-" He looked at himself, only wearing boxers and then to the silk-clad Nami. His eyes almost popped out of its sockets. "T-th-this-This isn't what it looks like Luffy!" he yelped.

"Shishishi. You say that but you're beet red. Admit it Usopp." Luffy teased and Robin chuckled while Nami just shook her head and sat beside Robin.

"Alright, stop teasing the man Luffy. He might explode, not that I mind witnessing that. I bet it would look like Picasso's painting." Robin hummed.

"Shishishi, okay okay. So, Robin, they keep records right?" Luffy asked again.

"That's right... They keep the records in the World Government Library."

Luffy tapped his temples and hummed. "Then that's it. We'll go there." Luffy stated calmly.

Usopp who just recovered from the shock of Luffy's teasing went into another full blown panic. "How on earth are you gonna do that? You can't just barge in and say 'hi do you have time for your friendly explorer Monkey D. Luffy?' " He slapped himself. "Fuck."

"You did _not_ just give Luffy a fucking stupid idea you idiot!" Nami screeched pulling Usopp's black curls and the man started screaming.

"Shishishishi. Don't worry guys. Let's think it through." Luffy reassured his crew.

"You say that but your face says otherwise. God, you look creepy as fuck." Nami cringed looking at Luffy's face and Usopp glanced at his best friend's face and started sobbing, chanting 'we're going to jail, this is the end'.

"What do you mean?" Luffy tilted his head.

Nami waved her hand all over Luffy's face. " Big black eyes shining, shit eating grin showing all of your goddamn teeth, moving your eyebrows up and down. God, you look like a fucking murderer about to maul someone. Just don't even think about it. Or else you'll have no meat. Understand?"

Robin interrupted before Luffy started eating himself or succumbed to severe depression hearing Nami's statement. "Luffy, there should be another way, we don't want them to get an idea of what we're doing right?" Luffy pouted, his plan was cool.

Luffy leaned on the chair and slouched, his head hanging on the chair's railing looking up and staring at the light, listening to Nami nag and Robin trying to stop Nami from verbal abusing Luffy while Usopp still was not done chanting his mantra. The whole WG thing was really a pain in the ass for Luffy. Why couldn't they just leave him alone, he was a modern day Robin Hood goddamnit.

"Wait... World Government right?" Usopp suddenly got over his existential crisis in a a matter of seconds. He stared at Luffy. "Luffy, how about you meet _him_? It's been what... two- no. Three years?"

Luffy sat properly and looked at Usopp, tilting his head. Just what the hell was Usopp trying to say? Who the fuck was this ' _him_ ' Usopp's referring to? Him... Three years. Him..."You dont say..." the raven head muttered. Luffy stared at Usopp, cold beads of sweat started oozing from his forehead, the hair on his nape bristled, his palms were clammy and the adrenaline coursing through his body coming from his body's fight-or-flight response was shutting down his ability to think logically.

"N-n-no!" Luffy screamed.

Usopp rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, he's _no_ t that bad. You're being overdramatic Luffy."

"Who is 'him' actually?" Nami and Robin answered together.

Luffy started fidgeting in his chair, rocking back and forth muttering under fast-paced breathing. "Fear is a feeling induced by perceived danger or threat that occurs in certain types of organisms, which causes a change in metabolic and organ functions and ultimately a change in behavior, such as fleeing, hiding, or freezing from perceived traumatic events. Fear in human beings may occur in response to a specific stimulus occurring in the present, or in anticipation or expectation of a future threat perceived as a risk to body or life-"

"Usopp... I think you broke Luffy." Nami deadpanned.

 **-guilty-**

How was it? I hope it's still interesting.

The next chapter would be TORAO's chapter! Can't wait for him and Luffy to meet!

For the next chapter, I made World Government something like the FBI instead of leading the world, they're taking care of the civilian's safety and all of that stuff.

archaeolexicologist - someone involved in researching ancient language (not really sure ., i had to ask old Mr. Google since i dont know if linguist fits Robin job)

 **Disclaimer:** One Piece is Oda's masterpiece and i'm just a pleb.

The fear description came from Wikipedia.

 **-guilty-**


	4. The Not-so-Secret Agent and His Team

**The Not-so-Secret Agent and His Subordinates**

As a kid, Law learned that the sun was a hot ball of gas and plasma and played an important function in human lives. It warmed the seas, triggered processes in the atmosphere, weather patterns and of course, assisted photosynthesis in plants, which gave humans oxygen and food. Really, one cannot simply shrug the importance of the sun. But what Trafalgar Law couldn't understand was why his teachers nor the astronomers that were bragging their accomplishments in live television forgot to include the most important fact: the sun was a big fucking jerk.

On a typical workday morning, like every normal person, Law would bask in the sun's warmth in a dewy early spring morning and sniff the sweet scent filling the air that made one imagine of happy thoughts, sunshine, softness, and everything nice. But not today, Law was dead set on calling the sun a condescending asshole. Basically, the goddamn fiery ball of light was a million miles away from Law and his comfortable king size bed but it suddenly decided to shot a harbinger of evil beam directly in his eye. Law didn't mind it stare down at him for twelve fucking hours a day but nuh uh Mr. Sun, shooting fucking light beams on Law's eyes snapped the man's self-restraint.

The tattooed man knew it was mocking him, like 'Oh I see you're getting enough sleep, why don't we do something about it, hmm? Oh, you don't like my greeting and want me to die? Don't worry when I die I'm taking you with me'. Groaning and focused on giving the sun a piece of his mind, Law flung his legs over the side of the bed and stomped his way to his window and flung it open. He tried to glare but in the end, settled for a squint and flipped his finger at the sun. "Fuck you too Mr. Sun!"

Law stared at the birds perched outside his window and narrowed his eyes, he thought they were judging him and did Law mention that those bastards were noisy as fuck? Law laughed at the idea that people find birdsongs sweet, cute, peaceful but Ha! How wrong they were. Those bloody feathered creatures were showing off to get laid. Yes, those oh so sweet sounds were booty calls. Those things were loudly tweeting trying to attract mates to procreate and give life to more obnoxious birds that would soon claim Law's window as their turf.

A nerve twitched on Law's forehead as he mumbled to himself and intensified his glare by fifty percent as if it would make the birds combust or some shit. In the back of his head, his traitor of a brain clearly said 'You're just jealous you haven't been getting any.' Well, ain't that just peachy he thought. It was not Law's fault that he had been busy, that he didn't have time to mingle and find himself a shag. He was a working man for fuck sake.

Being an agent for the World Government didn't really give him time to fool around with both men and women, he didn't mind which really, he swings both ways. There was constant danger and the citizens needed someone to make them feel safe and... Law, Law loved his job. As a member of the major workforce, he had an important role to fulfill and Law was damned set on playing that role. Though most of his job was behind the scenes, from forensics to applied technology and supporting other branches of the WG, that didn't mean he had to work half-assed. Thus, no sex life. Law rolled his eyes, he didn't need that or maybe he was just in denial. Law grunted, closing the windows before an episode of angry birds became a live action.

The agent stopped himself from having weird thoughts about his sex life before it drove him to a mental breakdown. He walked to his antique white-coated wooden closet and grabbed his uniform - black suit - and stumbled towards the bathroom. Normally, he would've stayed longer in bed but then again, asshole sun, horny stupid birds and not just that, he had an audience with the head of the WG. It was weird for them not to explain the details when Law received a memo but it was known that the heads of WG were crazy old weirdos especially the Chief of Staff.

He paused halfway to the bathroom directly facing a rectangular mirror hanging on the wall. 'Look like shit' couldn't even describe the image he saw in the mirror. The dark circles under his striking gray eyes - well they were blood-shot at the moment cause fuck the sun - was the size of the fucking Grandline. He wouldn't be surprised if someone called a mortuary to inform them that a body had escaped from one of their cold chambers if they saw Law. He ran his tattooed fingers over his messy blue-black mop of hair and spun around heading straight to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, he took a quick glance in the mirror before heading downstairs with his black suit looking neat and polished. Law walked over to the fridge and prayed that a miracle of miracles would happen as he opened it slowly, gray eyes peeking at the gap. He groaned. All empty. Not a sign of food, not even a single piece of pickle. What did he expect actually, it didn't come as a surprise, Law had not been exactly staying home for the past days because of his workload and if he did, he would stay in his office's premises until the wee hours of the night.

Staring at the empty fridge, the subject of having a love life popped out again. Law could imagine someone doing groceries for him and fill this dark void called fridge, he would wake up in the morning with the sweet scent of coffee, bacon, and eggs. Someone would greet him 'good morning' with a very loud obnoxious happy voice and shower him with kisses and Law would act grumpy but the other person would just look at him with the biggest and brightest smile in the world and drag his sorry sleepy ass to the kitchen cause that person would think that food makes everything better. The 26-year-old man nodded at the thought. "That doesn't sound bad," he muttered as he closed the door of his fridge and decided he better get his ass to work and get a cup of coffee in his office.

The traffic was light and the drive to work only took Law 20 minutes, his apartment was not that far from the World Government Head Quarters. Gripping the steering wheel tightly he drove slowly to his designated parking space with the sign "TRAFALGAR D. WATER LAW - HEAD OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DIVISION. He was glad he didn't have to look around for a free space, perks of being a high ranked agent he thought.

Law slipped out the door of his car and headed straight to the building and entered through the automatic sliding door. He pressed his thumb into the biometric fingerprint scanner and nodded at the guards stationed at the door. Law had a few exchanged greetings from his colleagues as he beelined to the cafeteria for coffee. Carefully clutching the cup with both hands, he indulged himself, the dark hot liquid seeped to his core as he walked to his boss' office. Reaching his destination, he threw the empty cup in a bin placed along the hall like a professional basketball player.

Law paused in front of the door, fixed his black tie and tugged on the hem of his suit jacket. He knocked and as soon as Law opened the door, a loud burst of laughter rang through the room. A tear streaked gray-haired man with rice crackers flying out of his mouth looked at a man behind a desk who seemed to have a bad mood. Sengoku -the Head of the World Government- the other gray-haired man behind the desk, facepalmed and sighed. He leaned forward and rubbed his chin, his gaze landed on Law. Sengoku motioned to the couch in front of his desk and Law obliged. Law was now sitting beside the ever-rambunctious Chief of Staff of the World Government, Monkey D. Garp.

"Oh, Trafalgar! Want some crackers?" Garp said offering him a piece of cracker, his broad shoulders clad in black shaking with mirth. Law politely declined saying he had his fill of coffee and the older man seemed happier to be able to keep the crackers all to himself.

"Stop bothering the man, Garp," Sengoku warned Garp sharply, shooting the man an exasperated glance. Law pitied his boss, it must be hard dealing with the security of the world and a madman simultaneously. Law wondered how on earth was the rice cracker-eating man sitting on the second highest position in the World Government. Though Law's colleagues did warn him about the dangers of the man, the stories of the recruits who barely made it into the WG because of his unusual ways of training. Law would have loved to see how the man did it, too bad he didn't have the chance to experience the training.

"Why are you even here Garp? Go back to your office!" Sengoku bellowed rubbing his temples which just made the other man laugh louder. Law thought Sengoku's hair must have turned white because of Garp's antics.

Sengoku sighed. "Trafalgar, you must be confused about the memo." Law nodded. "You'll be transferred to another division." Law tilted his head. Did he just hear that right? Transferred? "Excuse me, sir, but-" Law got cut off by the loud man sitting beside him.

"We decided that you take over a case in the Intelligence Division, Trafalgar," Garp said sounding serious and looking straight at Law's gray eyes. Okay, that was weird, Garp and Serious should not exist in one sentence unless the world may be on the verge of destruction.

"Sorry sir but I'm not qualified to transfer to that division. I solely fit in the science division, I'm a doctor after all. I deal better with forensics and analyzing data gathered from crime scenes." Law explained politely looking at the two older men.

"Oh pfft" Garp 'patted' his shoulder. A pat that could dislocate someone's shoulder. "We know your background son, it's not like its a damn secret either. Just think of this as a promotion, Trafalgar."

"We wouldn't transfer you if we didn't know that you're more than capable of taking over the case. The previous team is slowly addressing the issue but they aren't making the progress we would like. We've been following this for three goddamn years. We don't want it to be a cold case... You're an intelligent man, Trafalgar, you perfectly fit the bill." Sengoku added. Law internally sighed. "But why so sudden?"

"About that.." Sengoku glared with contempt at Garp who was snickering with derision... " Only specific agents were involved in this case... due to- reasons. They were specifically ordered to keep the investigation private... to... Let's just say to avoid mass hysteria. " Sengoku sighed looking older by the minute as he tried to explain the circumstances of Law's new assignment. "But since I'm tasking you to lead and collaborate with a team.. it should be proper for you to know the full details-"

"Cut the crap Sengoku. There's no mass hysteria, the civilians don't even have a single idea that its happening. Don't make it sound like, he's planning to nuke the capital." Garp snapped at the man sitting behind the desk. Bringing back his attention to Law, Garp paused for several seconds before he heaved a sigh of defeat. "You _will_ catch my grandson, Trafalgar."

"Huh? That doesn't really explain anything, sir." Law sighed inwardly and rubbed his head as though the whole idea gave him a headache because it really did. The tattooed man did not have any idea what his superiors were talking about.

"You see...that bastard's grandson" Sengoku pointed Garp "had been uncovering long-lost treasures which were thought to be mere legends and giving them to the World Government-

"Pardon me, but isn't that good? I don't see the point of arresting someone with that record." Law cut off Sengoku.

"Let me finish, Trafalgar..."Sengoku said with a commanding voice and Law bowed, politely apologizing for his sudden interruption. " Like I said ...he had been giving them to us, the WG, but... it doesn't come without property damage and loss of resources. He smuggled a lethal weapon from a high-security World Government facility just to prove his point and trade it for an intel. He does not pose danger to civilians but his means of getting information does not abide by the principle of legality, which is vital in our world, Trafalgar. The team he associated himself with aren't what we call law-abiding people."

Sengoku pulled out a brown folder from his desk drawer. He frowned down at the files as he placed it on the expanse of his desk. He waved his hand and motioned Law to pick up the folder. As Law was taking the file, Sengoku added "The subject might be connected to Cipher Pol, an underground organization that is involved in mass production of lethal weapons, trafficking, manufacture, and selling of illegal drugs, murders and larceny/theft. We believe they are working together-"

"Have you forgotten what they've done to the kid, Sengoku?!" Garp bellowed, his face turned red with hot anger walking briskly towards Sengoku's desk and pointing at the man. "You must be out of your mind.. to think for _even_ a split second that he works for them!" A sound boomed and echoed through the room as Garp slammed his fist on Sengoku's desk.

Law observed the interaction between his superiors. He had never seen Garp act like this before. The man was always smiling or messing with new recruits. Sengoku sighed and tried to talk calm the chief of staff. "I know Garp...but according to the reports, he was seen with them two years ago. The latest intel that the previous team gathered clearly stated that he had been in contact with them. We don't know the reason for that... either he works for them or working against them. Let's just hope its the latter. All I know is that brat is a pain in the ass and needs to be stopped... We want him alive. He might be a great asset for the WG."

Garp stomped back to the couch and grunted as he sat. He did not believe that his grandson of all people would work under the people who killed his parents... His son. It was tragic. The brat might be an idiot sometimes but he would never do something as stupid as what Sengoku was trying to say. Garp let out a heavy sigh. If only he could see the kid, it had been three years. Garp missed the kid, though not that he will admit it loud. The brat's head would just get bigger and bigger. Garp still had a lot to instill in the brat's stupid mind.

"If we need information, wouldn't Sir Garp be the best source of intel? It's his grandson after all." Law said as he scanned the papers inside the folder. The first thing he saw was a big toothy grin, a scar below his left eye and big black eyes that screamed innocence. The man looked young for his age, he had a carefree air, he did not look like a man that would commit crimes or more like offenses against the WG. Law scanned the details below the photo, his eye widened and his jaw almost hit the ground "Holy shit," he muttered. No wonder the superiors were wary about the guy, the man's deranged.

Garp clicked his tongue. "I haven't seen him in three years. I'll skin that brat alive if I get to see him again..." he paused "I can't say I'm not proud of all the bullshit he's done though. Hahahaha!"

"Whose side are you in actually Garp?! This is happening because _you_ couldn't control your grandson!" Sengoku retorted flailing his hands in exasperation. He was already dealing with one crazy Monkey and adding another one was no longer covered in his paycheck. Rubbing his temples from the headache known as the _Monkey's_ , Sengoku diverted his attention to the young agent.

"Trafalgar, we hand-picked the best agents we have for your team. Make sure to meet them in your new office. You're dismissed."

Law bowed to his two superiors, the two men were still arguing with each other after he left the room. Their loud voices rang through the busy hallways of the building. Seemed like the agents and officers working near their office were now immune to the ruckus inside the boss' room. Law scanned the folder he was holding once more, he'd read the entire report once he reached his new office. But first, he needed to move his things which were a pain in the ass. Law closed the folder and beelined to the Science Division.

Law's former subordinates were crying their hearts out as they heard the sudden news of their leader's transfer. Law had to explain the details, well, of course, leaving the confidential ones. Even if they all work under the World Government, each division still kept private files from their own investigations unless a certain case was connected to another division's case then they could share information.

Law grabbed a box full of his personal stuff -his beloved polar bear themed mug, binders, pen and pencils and old case files that were somewhat relevant to his new case. The tattoed man bid his former staff goodbye before they clung to his legs to stop him from moving out of the department. Law lifted the box and headed to his new office. He glanced at his old office where he spent for years of his working life, feeling nostalgic.

Law was quite impressed when his superior's secretary told him that they would be using a newly built facility with state of the art technology. The higher ups only told him that his office would be new, but not entirely one whole building. That spoke volumes about how important this case was. Law had to step up and catch this Monkey D. Luffy.

* * *

A month had passed since Trafalgar Law moved into his new office. It also had been almost a month since he didn't get a headache dealing with the bullshit that he calls subordinates. When he looked back at his conversation with his superiors a month ago, Law thought they would give him the most elite agents working under the World Government with good working habits considering the case was goddamn important. S class some may call it.

Well, to be honest, Law salutes his colleagues' skills. They were indeed top notch in both their work and giving him headaches and problems but mostly they were experts on the latter. The tattooed man looked like he came back from hell, his hair was messy, the bags under his eyes were as dark as the coffee he was sipping to control himself from shooting the idiots running about in his office.

The poor agent hadn't slept properly and even lost some weight, they were all focused on cracking the case. The chances of him having a love life were at 0 percent by now. Guess he'll die alone then. He recalled the naive Trafalgar Law who was so goddamn eager to take on the case and meet his new subordinates. Immediately after Law entered the room, he regretted why he accepted the job without having to look at his new staff's credentials. "Wait..is that why Sengoku nor Garp didn't give the files to me?" he muttered to himself. Lately, he noticed he had been talking to himself cause that was the only proper conversation he would ever get into this hell hole where three hell spawns dwell .

Law was so close to conducting lobotomy on his staff. At least one of them was actually not as irritating as the other three. Bepo, a fluffy albino man, his cartographer, and navigator was the only tolerable one. The only downside he had was some serious issue of apologizing even if something that happened wasn't his fault. It didn't irritate Law, Bepo was a skillful man and Law acknowledged his intelligence, the problem came from the other two hell spawns- namely Sachi and Penguin. The I.T dudes. The bastards who were tasked to find any loose ends on the Straw Hat's side like traced phone calls, security camera footage in areas the straw hats were seen, etc.

Law couldn't remember when the fuck did he say that the office served as a night club. Who brings girls in their workplace to fuck really? Law wanted to fire the bastards but his superiors actually believed in their skills and Law was the one who had to deal with their bullshit on a daily basis. The world was such a strange and unfair place, Law pondered.

He tried to play the patience card but they started nagging and forcing Law to 'go out and enjoy a night life' since they thought Law acted stuck up cause he hadn't gotten laid for months. If people would stop pointing out that Law didn't have a sex life, that would be nice he thought. Apparently, they were not only experts in their respective fields but they had a Ph.D on Law's life too. How... nice... Goddamnit, they were investigators, World Government agents and not some horny teenagers who would go to clubs and rub their dicks on any girls ass they come across with.

Then there came the last member. Law didn't know whether the man was on his side or the straw hats. Law now fully understood how Sengoku felt towards Garp, as the man was openly proud of the subject of Law's assigned case. The first time Law stepped into his office, the view that seared into his gray eyes were goddamn enlarged photos of every member of the Straw Hats. Like goddamnit! He didn't even see a single sign of the 'high-technology' facility that Sengoku's secretary bragged about. Law sighed. He needed to control his mouth, he had been cursing for the umpteenth time recalling past events. The tattooed man was just frustrated to the point where his mouth gained autonomy and spew profanities and whatnot on its own.

Law hummed, what page did he stop with his litany of complaints. Ah yes... When Law arrived at his office, the faces of the straw hats were plastered on the wall and served as the wallpaper of their office. _Fucking_ Bartolomeo, their man on the field, a green-haired idiot with nose rings that the superiors tasked to spy and blend in crowds. Did they get blinded by his bright green hair and forgot that the man _did actually have green fucking hair_? He was so fucking obvious they might as well hang a sign on his neck that says 'Hey I'm taking pictures of you. Smile~'

Law thought that word the 'stalker' fit Barto rather than a spy, Law even bets his salary for three months that the man would _love_ the title cause Barto was, in fact, a goddamn stalker and for fuck sake, the man praises the Straw Hats like gods and deities. He was absolutely undeniably obsessed to the extreme point where to call it an 'obsession' was the fucking understatement of the year. The guy had borderline pathological disorder of delusion. He goddamn needed help.

But today...today he wanted to kiss Bartolomeo until he suffocates and dies as Law opened the brown enveloped that Barto placed on Law's desk. After a month of nothing - there laid on his desk a photo of the man that had been plaguing Law's dreams. Monkey D. Fucking Luffy. The infamous leader of the Straw Hats.

"Where did you get these?" Law asked as he examined the photos on his desk. Straw Hat Luffy looking awfully distraught as he stared at a meat store, drool marred the side of his lips. The man was with a curly haired guy known as Usopp, their tech-guy according to Law's files. Law thought Straw Hat Luffy was cute, he did appreciate all things adorable. Law may look menacing, stoic but damn he had a good heart and a taste for cute young men. Law internally slapped himself, that sounded bad, he wouldn't really want himself to get labeled as a pedophile. Gods _no_.

"Goa International Airport boss. I've been waiting there for days, according to my informants, they saw at least three members of the Straw Hats. They tried to follow them but they just vanished. Their driver was impeccable! Vanishing just like Poof!" An immense amount of admiration visible in his sparkling eyes as he animatedly explained what happened.

"Bring these to Sachi and Penguin, let them check every passenger that arrived at that airport. I want the results in an hour." The green hair man nodded eyes focused on the photos spread on Law' desk. "And tell Bepo to give me the latest copy of the map of Goa, I want a complete map. From alleys, abandoned warehouses -everything." Law instructed the man in front of him who was drooling over the pictures. Barto immediately picked up the photos in the most delicate way as if they might break or burst into flames if he accidentally folded the edges of the photos. Law started sorting out the files on his table. After one month, finally. A lead. The tattooed man leaned on his chair and sighed. He rubbed the dark bags under his eyes. He could finally sleep.

Just as he was contemplating on his next actions, there was a buzz on the door. Law thought he saw The Flash but got disappointed when it was just Sachi running to the door, the guy just wanted to slack off and leave Penguin to deal with Law's requests. Goddamn Sachi. Law could see the disappointment in Sachi's face and Law knew full well why for a pink-haired man entered the room and walked towards Law's desk.

The pink-haired man, named Coby, as Law could his name on the I.D hanging around his neck stood in front of his desk. "Good day sir. Sir Sengoku and Sir Garp want to see you." Law's dark eyebrows arched. Well, ain't that a surprise, he had not seen the old men for a month now. More like they were avoiding Law and his formal complaints about his staff.

* * *

Law left his office and got escorted by the young agent to a conference room used for case briefings .Coby politely asked Law to wait outside as he entered the room, after a couple of minutes the man opened the door. "Sir, please come in." Law followed suit and there they were in all their glory, Law superiors, Garp and Sengoku with his goat... Why was there a goat? And why did they look like they were having a picnic in the middle of the room? Law just shook his head, the more he tried to understand the current view, the more his brain cells died in an alarming rate.

"Sit Trafalgar," Sengoku said. Law eagerly sat. "How's your investigation going?"

"We recently acquired photos of the straw hats arriving in Goa, Sir. My team is now working on tracing their whereabouts."

Both older men nodded and hummed. "I received a personal letter from my idiot grandson." Garp said sipping his tea. A paper plane was sent flying to Law's spot. The agent furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the two older men. Just what the fuck was he supposed to do with a paper plane? Throw it back? Was he the only sane person in this organization? Law thought the world was doomed if those old bastards were really the ones who were keeping the civilians safe.

Garp motioned Law to read it. The tattoed man unfolded the paper plane and all Law could see were scribbles. Was Law supposed to read it? Because he couldn't. He wasn't even sure if the scribbles were actually letters of the alphabet, they seemed more of the ancient letters or just plain chicken scratch. He squinted his eyes... He tried to flip the paper... Still no...

"Am I supposed to read this?" The older man nodded. "I'm sorry but it's impossible." Garp started laughing. What the fuck was so funny? Law really didn't have time for this. If these old timers were just making fun of him, he'd seriously quit and fuck off. The last few weeks were the most stressful days of his life and he could feel his hair going white prematurely. In a few days he might look like these old bastards.

After a serious fit of laughing, Garp composed himself and cleared his throat. Sengoku didn't seem to mind and all his attention aimed on the goat. "It says ' I come in peace.'" Law tilted his head again. He had no idea what that meant. Why did it sound like an alien's message to earthlings?

"That's it?" Law asked.

"Yep." Garp deadpanned.

Law groaned internally and thought of puppies, polar bears and all things fluffy before he pulled every strand of his hair. "Sir no offense, but both of you called me here for this? I was planning my next approach sir, we have a lead. This letter does not make sense. We're wasting our time here."

Garp clicked his tongue looking annoyed and shook his head. "You don't understand Trafalgar" Law had to roll his eyes for that, he didn't care if the old man could see him. "It means, he will be coming to me Trafalgar. When, where, how, why? That's what we need to know right now. I stay in the WG building most of the times. I don't think he would settle for something lame like showing up in our house."

The statement seemed to have snapped Sengoku out of his fantasy world where he and his pet goat were frolicking in the meadows singing Mary Had a Little Lamb. "That's your can go now." Law, for the second time, had to roll his eyes, he had been doing that for the whole fucking month. He grabbed the letter, he might get a match with the penmanship. Not everybody writes like a fucking one-year-old after all.

Law was about to leave the hall when something popped in his mind. If the straw hats sent a letter then they must've had contact or something. Law could connect the address or interrogate the mailman. The post office should have a record of all the mails that are outbound or inbound to Raftel especially a letter for someone in the World Government. "Sir, how was this letter sent?"

"Carrier pigeon." Was what both men simultaneously answered.

Though the idea sounded absurd, Law actually thought it was ingenious. As far as Law knew, there was no pigeon post in Raftel. Law and his team could not track it if the straw hats trained the pigeon themselves which seemed to be the case since the pigeon was nowhere to be found. Either it flew off and went to mind his own business or these crazy old men ate the poor pigeon.

* * *

A week after the letter incident, Law and his team finally tracked where the two members of the straw hats came from before arriving in Goa. Law got the results from Sachi and Penguin's combined efforts after four days of checking every passenger of every flight that landed on Goa the day Barto received the pictures. For the two best tech-dudes of the WG to take four days to find one damn flight proved how discreet the straw hats handle their operations, how well-thought their plans were. This case was not easy but Law loved the challenge. It had been a while since someone piqued his interest this way.

"Monkey D. Luffy huh" he muttered as he reread the Straw Hat's personal informations and credentials. Law did not understand the contradicting records that the previous team handling the case compiled. In some incidents, there were no damages at all. To be specific only incidents that involved World Government properties came out with property damage. Were they mocking the WG? Were they trying to send a message? Law needed answers, there should be a reason behind all of it Law thought.

The only reliable information so far coming from the old files were the extent of the straw hats expertise in their fields. Law was puzzled how Straw Hat Luffy gathered the best of the best and why they opted to join the man. For example, the mercenary Roronoa Zoro. Law could feel a vibe that the man did not like to follow anyone but there he was, working under a man who was younger than him. What puzzled Law, even more, was the lack of substantial information on the group's leader. It seemed impossible that after three years, the only record they had was his full name, a picture, age - all basic information- and the fact that he was the grandson of Monkey d. Garp. Law had to dig on that.

Law and Bepo scrutinized Goa's map and plot out possible places that the Straw Hats base could be located. Sanchi and Penguin continued tracing previous flights that the straw hats were in, Law thought there should be a pattern, a connection to every destination. Law tapped the map with his tattooed fingers, it was already full of red pins and strings. Law shook his head they needed more information, they couldn't possibly inspect every 'pin', that will take too much manpower.

Law sighed and turned his head to a gawking Barto on the corner of the office, he expected the man to put altars and place offerings on the straw hats' photos soon. The cryptic letter they received a couple days ago was now added to his 'collection', they never really got anything from that aside from the fact that Monkey D. Luffy had the shittiest penmanship Law had ever seen. To think that Garp came up with the conclusion that his grandson would give them a 'visit' just from that random note was weird and probably the old man had look in too much into the letter. On the other hand, Sengoku still heightened their security much to Garp's disappointment since apparently, the man wanted to 'bond' with his grandson.

Bepo stared at his boss, the guy had been investing too much of his time with the case. The fluffy man was worried about him, he needed a break. It only had been one month or so but the guy lost a lot of weight. Feeling concerned for his boss' well-being the navigator took a deep breath and spoke out his concern, Bepo would feel better if their boss had a good mood when working. It was hard for him to act normally when someone in the room was like a hungry wild beast, snarling at everyone and looked like he might rip out their throats. "Boss, are you going to the gala for promoted agents?" Bepo thought it probably was a bad idea when he got the attention of Sachi and Penguin and the duo started making their way to their boss' desk. Barto, on the other hand, was a lost cause stuck in his straw hat delusions, he needed an intervention.

"Yeah boss, why don't you join us huh? It'll be fun, there would be girls." Sachi leaned on the desk and winked at the tattooed man. Bepo thought either Sachi had balls of steel or plain stupid with no sense of danger.

"Why would there be girls Sachi? Please do tell, it's a damn officials-only event, exclusive for WG employees. I'd rather not waste my time attending pointless parties." His team really needed to prioritize their job Law thought.

"There he goes again, work work work. You need to refresh your mind boss, you know... socialize and leave this dump." Penguin said patting Law's shoulder but quickly removed his hand when the man growled. "Garp and Sengoku expect you to come, well damn, the party might as well be for you since you're the highest ranking promoted personnel."

Bepo didn't know that the day would come that he would actually agree with the two idiots. "That's right boss, you really need a breather. It almost seemed like you're morphing into him." Bepo pointed the green-haired fanatic bowing at the straw hats photos. Law narrowed his eyes and Bepo had to apologize. Law sighed, he hated how Bepo had to put it like that, he was not a fanatic nor was he referring to the straw hats as gods. He was just doing his job. The trio seemed to have ganged up and for Bepo to actually join the idiots, guess Law really need a breather.

Law ran his tattooed fingers through his hair, weighing down the possibilites and resigned with a sigh. "Alright. I'll go." They won't stop bugging him anyways and he could not focus on his work with all the noise.

"Yes!" the two idiots cheered, high-fiving each other. "We'll make sure that you're gonna have the best day of your life boss!" Law did not know how to feel about that. Oh well, guess he would just see. He could always hide their lifeless bodies effectively without a trace if Sachi and Penguin tried something stupid. Practicing dissecting humans seemed appealing to the tattooed man.

"Now scram before I slice you to pieces and feed you to my pet leopard." Law casually said without looking at the faces of the idiots, he already knew they were smirking since they made Law agree, it had seemed to boost their egos.

"What?! You have a leopard? Isn't that illegal? Who feeds the poor thing when you're all cooped up with work boss?!" Sachi exclaimed appalled at Law's statement. Bepo smacked his own face, just what the fuck was wrong with Sachi's brain.

"I think he just said that to make a point, Sachi. Now, be a good boy and follow me if you value your life." Penguin grabbed Sachi's collar, dragging the man to their work desk before Law could tear the guy to pieces and actually get a pet leopard just to eat Sachi's remains.


	5. The Explorer's Cinderella Story

**The First Encounter**

Fucking up codes was not in Usopp's credentials but when someone kept grunting, whimpering and making an inaudible noise that almost sounded like moose mating, it was hard to focus on the task at hand. Usopp heavily sighed as he took off his black-rimmed glasses and rubbed his tired teary eyes. Multiple coded programs flashed on the six monitor set-up mounted on top a metal counter strategically placed against the cargo van's deep-red colored wall lining. Everything the group owned seemed to have hues of red, it was a miracle that Luffy managed to overrule Nami's sense of styling. Usopp pinched the bridge of his nose. In a second thought, Luffy probably gave his share of treasures to Nami. Usopp thought the latter seemed to be the case.

Noticing that the extremely distressed Luffy seemed to have calmed down for the time being and not filling Usopp's ears with undistinguished sound from the mic strategically placed on Luffy's lapel, Usopp stretched his arms, cracked his knuckles and began to focus on the screen -again, nimbly moving his fingers on the led illuminated keyboard. He had been working on bypassing a security system, allowing Luffy to get inside the function hall of the WG without being detected. It was supposed to be an easy task but when you add two bickering idiots in the picture, concentration was the issue. With a resigned sigh, Usopp once again set all his attention on the screen, not looking at the keyboard he had been pounding relentlessly.

Thirty minutes after and Usopp was on the verge of going mental. Usopp thought it would be nice if he can actually get some sense of peace especially when he was supporting someone who was infiltrating a high-security facility. After all, Usopp's task was to make Luffy's job a walk in the park but nooo, the not-so-subtle-act-like-enemy-lovers just had to fuck him up. Veins started popping out of his forehead and his fingers seemed to have stiffened.

"Can you both shut the fuck up?! I am trying to do my job here! Do you guys have any idea what would happen to Luffy if he gets compromised in there? Huh? This is serious business people!" he snarled at blondie and marimo. He was indeed scared of them but Luffy's safety was the priority here and not Usopp's life which was hanging on a thin thread when he snapped, but that didn't seem to be the case, cause the idiots were still fighting. Ahh, stuffs Usopp did for Luffy.

Usopp pushed his chair away from the metal counter dragging it all the way back to the driver's seat, making a screeching sound that had more effect on the blondie and marimo more than his frustrated cry. The tech-loving man placed his forefingers on both temples and pressing them hard hoping it would puncture his skull and end his misery.

Sighing, he then pleadingly looked at the orange-head sitting comfortably in the driver's seat, her legs placed on the steering wheel and playing with the van's keys. "Nami, why the hell are they even here? Why didn't we bring Franky or Brook?" The Cat Burglar turned her head slowly to face Usopp, a scowl present on her face. "You think it was my fucking idea? I had to blackmail Luffy to change his stupid plan and it took me one week to do that! But it didn't include one detail...which was apparently involving his 'back up'. I wanted Robin to come but no, it had to be the 'oh look how much we hate each other but we're actually fucking behind your back' idiots."

Usopp sighed. He knew he had been saying the same shit for the last few years but Usopp would still say it. "Luffy should really get his shit straight." Nami chuckled bitterly. "Yeah Usopp, someday...maybe when pigs fly." That sounded ominous but considering Luffy was Luffy..well yeah, Usopp believed Nami. And of all people, Usopp should be the one to know how insane Luffy was. Usopp had accumulated countless proofs and every time Usopp thought that Luffy got his shit together, the raven-haired man would just shatter that dream for Usopp in every way possible, just like now because who in their right mind would ask a directionally challenged person and a man fixated with lovely women to back him up. When marimo would just get lost after one second and Sanji would get distracted every fucking time a woman appeared.

"We're all fucked then." Usopp nonchalantly stated, not really saying it to anyone but Nami also being Nami had to be sassy. "No shit, Sherlock." Usopp rolled his eyes dragging his chair back to his desk before shit happened and the World Government building would suddenly get hit by a nuke just because he left Luffy alone for a minute because really, the crew must be out of their minds if they thought Luffy would follow a plan. He grabbed a headset and placed it on his ears hoping it will drown the two idiots' squabble.

* * *

'Why did I even bother to say yes?' Trafalgar Law contemplated as he was now standing in the middle of a crowd infested hall sipping his fifth glass of champagne. The liquor didn't do anything to drown his regret and frustration, the bastards promised they'd stick with Law for the whole party just so he didn't have to deal with other guests but guess that's out of the picture now. Penguin, Sachi, and Bepo took off right after arriving and left him alone and he didn't even want to know where the green-haired stalker was. He needed a stronger alcohol for this shit, vodka, whiskey or rum could work.

The idiots said its for him to 'relax' but no matter how Law looked at it, relaxation was so far off from his current situation. Basking in suggestive looks, 'accidental' brushing of hands on his ass, salacious catcalls from both men and women, old and young. Seriously, did he get lost and attended the wrong party because why the fuck would there be people doing catcalls in a fucking all-agent event? Wasn't this 'a' World Government party? Weren't they supposed to act all professional? Law had to use his death glare, hoping it was a clear message for them to fuck off before Law's pent-up frustrations overflowed and insults after insults would fly out his mouth.

Thirty minutes after the tribute for retiring officers and the induction of newly promoted agents, Law strode towards the corner of the hall hoping to avoid all the people who were greeting and congratulating him. He had enough of socializing. Law wanted to leave the place but unfortunately, coming from the depths of hell like the hell spawns they were, Sachi and Penguin both equally tipsy, emerged and dragged him all over the place. The idiots introduced him to a couple of ladies and Law could not give a flying fuck what their names were or their positions in the WG. Every single one of them was ousting each other to get Law's attention, trying to start a conversation with him, sharing stories behind their outfits and jesus, were they desperate -showing off their cleavage and all that shit.

Law had to excuse himself before he snapped and tell them he didn't give a rat's ass about their expensive dresses. Law could be a _little_ rude but he can be worse..much worse and god, he didn't want to be fired because of petty reasons like shoving foam padding from a woman's chest into their big mouths cause that seemed to be the only way to shut them up.

Law's mouth twitched into a wicked smile and his ominously calm voice made Sachi and Penguin run for their lives. He grabbed two more champagne glass from a passing waiter's tray, downing the crystalline liquid off the glass one after the other as he walked away from the unwanted company. Law started walking like a robot because of the excessive interaction. All Law wanted was to get the fuck home, flop himself on his warm fluffy bed and get a good night's sleep so he could start fresh on their case.

Just as Law was about to leave the godforsaken place, an enchanting glossy silver caught his eyes. Law paused in his tracks to get a better view of the site. Ignoring the cussing as someone bumped into him, Law just didn't give a fuck anymore, all he could focus on was the most enticing human being Law had the chance to set his gray eyes on.

Law pinched the skin on the back of his hand between his thumb and forefinger. It stung, that meant he was actually seeing something _real_ and not only a figment of his imagination. Maybe, he should pinch himself again, just to _really_ make sure, he thought, because the last time he checked angels were supposed to be in heaven and they didn't wear a suit. God, did that came out unnaturally from his mushy brain. Law wondered if he transformed into a hero in some cheesy fan fiction...maybe he already did?

Law gulped as the object of his affection brushed and tucked the strands of his long silky straight silver locks that swept across his face behind his ear. The guy's hair was tied up into a ponytail and the locks gently swung following his every movement as he glanced around the hall turning his body, showing off the smooth sun-kissed skin on his nape and if the guy could direct the look he was using as his round emerald green eyes gazed at the meat he held on both hands, Law would be the happiest man in the world.

For a moment, Law thought the guy ate a lot for someone who was about five feet and six inches with a slender body but that didn't matter now, he could eat all the food in the world and Law wouldn't bat an eye. Law was mesmerized by the blinding smile as the guy happily ate almost all of the meat displayed on the table and somehow... that smile seemed familiar. He was sure he had seen it somewhere... but he couldn't pinpoint where, probably along the halls when he went to work, he thought.

As Law tried to recall where exactly did he see that smile, his thoughts got interrupted when myriads of emotions crossed the guy's face and settled into a pout. A fucking pout. How can a fucking grown ass man pout and still look so freaking adorable? That should be a crime punishable by _Law_. *wink wink*

Law continued to stare, hoping people wouldn't notice cause he could tell that he totally looked like a drooling hyena. Law's heart stopped beating when the guy closed his eyes and a slick pink appendage licked the pouty luscious lips. Oh, how Law's mind got clouded with inappropriate scenarios involving a different kind of _slick_ appendage. The tattooed man could feel his blood heading south in a speed of light. That was a bad sign, this was not the right place nor the right time to have this reaction. His brain needed to chill the fuck out before Mr. Woody sticks straight right out of his tight trousers and cause blunt force trauma to an unsuspecting victim.

Law groaned and bit his lips until the pulsing sensation on his belly receded stupid deprived brain. He looked around to try and find an excuse to talk to the guy cause Law would smack himself hard if he didn't get the chance to at least talk to him and get his number or something like that.

The gods must have finally taken pity on his soul from all the shit he experienced the entire time he spent on the party as a waiter bringing glorious champagne passed by him. Law didn't even mind that the waiter blocked the perfect site in front of him, his timing was spot on. Bless his soul, Law thought as he sophisticatedly picked two glasses of champagne, thanking his newly appointed third wheel and headed straight to the guy who made his heart throb among other things.

* * *

After getting tormented by an orange-haired witch who thought Luffy's 'well-thought-off-plan' was, in fact, moronic, the raven didn't have any choice but to agree. Luffy thought otherwise though. His original plan was just: barge in, steal shit, ensue chaos. He was an _expert_ at that. But noooo, his crew had to go to the diplomatic side and send a letter. Luffy's head almost exploded as he tried so hard to find the reason why they had to send a freaking letter. **_WHY?_** They were criminals for crying out loud and criminals don't do 'diplomatic' shit. Luffy blamed Usopp for that, if only the blabbermouth didn't mention Garp. All of this would not happen - the stupid disguise (which really wasn't considered a disguise cause Garp and Sengoku knew the look) and the satisfaction Nami experienced when she made Luffy's face a piece of canvass - seriously, nothing.

They wasted days to discuss their plan, Luffy had to impose his because - _again_ \- letters were stupid and he did not want to meet the devil's right-hand man because that would be suicide. But much to Luffy's disappointment, the crew finally reached a compromise. Luffy would begrudgingly follow the crew's plan and he got to write the letter and decide how they would send it. Usopp had a lame idea of sending it via hacking the WG's computer system but Luffy had a better plan. That's the only thing he was allowed to do after all, might as well have a blast doing it.

Thoughts plagued Luffy's mind as he was standing in a room full of glittered and glammed wives with their suit-clad husbands prancing and mingling with one another. 'Probably I was right all along. Maybe it was a bad idea sending a message that short. Why does it have to be Garp of all people? Did Nami know that Luffy would likely end up in Chopper's infirmary?' But Luffy just couldn't resist the urge, could he? It was too tempting. The opportunity was right there, placed in front of him with ribbons and all, he knew..Luffy knew he would regret if he didn't grab it by the balls. Who was Luffy to ignore the best one-liner ever made? It was perfect for the occasion, though the pigeon was for the lols.

He wondered what happened to the little dude as Luffy graciously sashayed to ultimate prize waiting for him - a table full of meat and was now heading to its natural habitat which was Luffy's bottomless stomach. In the back of his mind, he hoped his grandfather didn't eat the poor bird.

Speaking of his grandfather, where the hell was that old man? The faster this ends, the safer Luffy would be. Luffy rubbed the soft locks adorning his head, he could still fell the bumpy remains of Nami's wrath. He looked around, for sure Garp could decipher the letter right? It was straight to the fucking point after all - Easy, straight to the point no bullshit. Then again, he didn't mention when and where.

For sure the pigeon didn't fuck up, he trusted the little guy. Luffy was absolute that Garp had received and read it and if his granda did, Sengoku would know too. That might be bad. The explorer had expected himself to get nabbed once he entered the building yet here he was enjoying meat nonchalantly which was even eerier. Luffy cursed internally, maybe he was surrounded by now, Sengoku had serious issues with him. Luffy didn't know why though..or did he?

Luffy hummed. Sure, he did _this_ and _that_ , usual Luffy stuff that went against the WG but he couldn't figure out for the life of him why Sengoku's hatred was more than the amount of white hair the man had. Luffy squinted, tidbits of meat were poking out of his pouted lips and hands paused in the air holding meat on each side as he tried to recall just what made Sengoku hate Luffy other than all the shit he'd done... An image of a white fluffy goat popped into his mind. _Right_. Who could've known that the goat he took for a stroll was Sengoku's beloved pet? And for fuck sake, the old man had the guts to call him a kidnapper. And what's so bad with Luffy enjoying a walk with the adorable goat? Bet Sengoku was just jealous. Pfft.

He nodded at that thought. There was still the tingle in his body, Luffy could not help but get nervous, it had been three years and imagine the accumulated Fist of Love his grandpa had to offer. The thought made his skin crawl and adrenaline pump. Poor Usopp had been making Luffy calm down, talking to him through the device in his ear. Luffy's only comfort was being surrounded by one thing he loved the most - meat. He shoved multiple pieces earning disgusted looks from other guests. Well, excuse Luffy and his love for meat. Luffy huffed, if people could just mind their own business, that would be nice. He was blending in and _blending in_ meant happily eating all the food on the table while he looked for his grandpa. Yes, that seemed to be the most logical thing to do, he didn't need attention after all.

A sudden ear-splitting beep snapped him out of his concentration. Luffy had the urge to rip off his ears cause damn it, either Usopp wanted to have his attention or he must have wanted Luffy deaf, whatever his purpose was, it fucking had an instant result, he got Luffy's attention and Usopp made him temporarily deaf. He winced as the ringing sound remained even after Usopp started talking. Luffy scanned the table for something he could wipe the grease on his hands...nothing. He shot a quick glance around and subtlely wiped his hands on the tablecloth. _Ninja moves_. He reminded himself to never use this technique around Sanji unless he enjoyed being hung a pole stark naked.

Luffy placed a finger inside his ear and fixed the earpiece lodged inside. " _Luffy...Lufffyy... Test...Luffyy..- Fuck why is it not working - the Great Usopp made sure it would work._ " was what the first thing Luffy heard along with some scuffling noise in the background. Luffy shook his head and spoke in a low voice. "I can hear you perfectly Usopp... well after you fucked up my ear for one full minute." Rolling his eyes, Luffy positioned himself, back facing the multitude of guests in the hall.

" _Oh Luffy, great! You were gone for twenty minutes man- though I have a hunch cause you were moaning...either you found food- or you really need to get your head checked if infiltrating bases turns you on._." there was a sudden pause " _Oh god, that -could actually happen.. that's actually- gross as fuck.._ " Usopp stated, a tone of relief then shifted to disgust played in his voice.

"Shishishi, What can I do? I'm a carnivore Usopp, I can't just leave the food. It needed lovin' you know."

" _And you didn't even think of us? I mean, -you're leisurely being a glutton and we're here starving. -Move your ass and get work done. -Find your grandpa so we can leave. I don't like the thought -of iron bars Luffy and certainly wouldn't like feeling -them with my hands. No, thank you._." Luffy could certainly see Usopp's head shaking side to side as he said that.

"Don't worry Usopp, I took the pleasure of eating your share. Shishishishi."

" _Seriously dude, this is an emergency. Nami's getting bitchy. She's freaking scary._ " Usopp whispered the last part as if his life depended on it. Which was probably the case. Cause fuck, Nami was _scary_.

"Shit. Whose idea was it that we do things this way..sheesh " he huffed " If my grandpa doesn't show up in fifteen minutes, I'm legally allowed to do things my way."

"J _ust ...-whatever man, I'll support you. I can't imagine -your grandpa's reaction if he actually sees you though. You'll probably -end up with 5 broken ribs, a few fractures -and a huge bump in your head_."

Luffy clenched his jaw. It was Usopp's fault that he had to see his grandpa. " _Not helping Usopp,...really not helping. If you're trying to freak me out, it's working._ " Luffy said with a shaky voice, he started fidgeting again biting his fingernail.

" _Shit. My bad Luffy_ " Luffy furrowed his dark brows. Oh, Luffy knew Usopp wasn't sorry, all right." _Stop getting sidetracked, follow the plan, find hi-_ "

"Excuse me?" A soothing low husky voice asked overwhelming Usopp's scratchy voice. Luffy froze, his breath caught in his throat. That voice. _Oh,_ that voice, it sent shivers down Luffy's spine. Hoping against hope as he slowly, -very slowly turned around that the sexiest voice he had heard belonged to an equally sexy man... And Bam! Luffy was not disappointed as he lifted his head to see the man's face.

The first thing that caught Luffy's attention were his eyes, they looked like exquisite orbs of ashes and smoke with swirls of gold, Luffy couldn't find the exact words to describe them, they were beautiful. And whoever said eye bags weren't sexy cause damn, Luffy would give this man's dark circles 10 out of 10 for additional sex appeal. It gave his orbs a more dramatic pull and Luffy was being dragged in mercilessly inside those pools at the speed of 500 miles an hour. The man raised an eyebrow and there was a slight tug on his faint red lips as it slowly turned up into a sly smirk, obviously amused with Luffy's reaction.

After an awkward moment of Luffy standing with his mouth open, gaping like a blasted fish, he forced himself to focus and pry his eyes off the sexy piece of art in front of him. He blinked multiple times internally cursing himself for acting so fucking lame. Luffy couldn't think straight, the man had oozing pheromones and Luffy's brain was having an overdose lowering his I.Q to one. He started to stutter, he wanted to break the stupid shiny tiles on the floor and claw his way down to - where his crew thought Luffy came from- hell.

The man smothered a grin and offered him a glass of champagne which Luffy gladly received, sending the man a playful wink as he got his shit together. Luffy's eyes shone with excitement as he saw the long tattooed fingers that just added to the man's sexiness, well that was an unexpected surprise. Who could've known Luffy would see a man of this caliber in the WG? Then it clicked. World Government. Party. Closed-event... Luffy bit his lips. _Oh. Shit._ Hell. No.

'That's right, he was in a WG party and there's a hundred percent chance he was flirting with a fucking agent', Luffy though. Alarms were blaring, red lights flashing on and off inside Luffy's head. His brain suddenly had a poetic side and started spewing shit, 'To leave or not to leave, that is the question. Ah~ What a shame, fate is really a cruel mistress'. Luffy groaned, just what did he do to deserve this cruelty? Did the gods finally call forth for Luffy's doom and this was his punishment? Death by sexual frustration... now isn't that a shitty way to die, he thought.

" _Luffy.-Oiiiii -Luffffyyy, Lufffffyyyy-Hello earth to Luffy_ -" Right he forgot Usopp. Usopp was still there listening to him. But he couldn't answer now, could he? The man must've sensed Luffy's panic as he placed a gentle hand on Luffy's shoulder. Two forces fought in Luffy's mind, the struggle was _real_. Luffy wanted to touch -touch the man's hands - feel his muscles ..maybe.. and do things - _very sexy things_ \- but that would be wrong, so fucking wrong.

"Is something the matter?" the man asked, Luffy almost purred as he heard pure concern laced in the man's sultry voice.

" _Luffffyyyyy- Lufffyyyy- Luffffyyyyyy-_ " Luffy decided he would strangle Usopp once he was done with his mission. Luffy pushed Usopp's voice out of his mind, which was a really hard feat when he was literally lodged inside his head.. well ears to be exact... He focused on the man in front of him and savored every second of contact. Examine him inch by inch and take in every detail.

"Hmm? Oh. No, nothing at all." Luffy said with a charming smile placing the empty champagne glass on the table beside him.

The tattooed man hummed, lips softly pressed against the glass, his pink tongue tracing the rim of the glass, eyes boldly staring at Luffy. He was shamelessly flirting with Luffy, wasn't he? And hell yes, it was absolutely working. Luffy's body started to get confused and out of sorts. The mixed emotions bottled up inside started to make its way out.

"That's good," Mister-death-tattooed-on-his-fingers said and let out an exasperated sigh. Shit. Did Luffy fuck up?

The man awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't normally ask strangers for their number, but I'll be pissed at myself if I never see you again, so…let's change that shall we? " Mister tats smiled and fuck did that do weird things to Luffy. He didn't know why he was not melting yet, his temperature sky-rocketed in an inhuman value. "Would you give this desperate man the pleasure of knowing your name?" **FUCK. YES.** Luffy wanted to scream that shit out but he tried so hard to keep his poise intact.

" _Lufffyyy- Oiiii-hellooo- I'd hate to be -the bearer of bad news- but -you can't just give you're-name-_ " and once again Luffy wanted an asteroid to hit Usopp right now. Usopp was being a major cockblock. Usopp didn't need to remind Luffy, he knew what he was doing, Luffy thought, internally rolling his fake green orbs.

Luffy flashed a grin at Mr. Tats and bit his lower lips. " Only if I get to know yours first." Luffy purred as he gently placed his index finger on the man's chest, playfully running gentle circles. The man shook his head and chuckled. "Law... Trafalgar Law."

On the corner of Luffy's eyes, he could see Sengoku's fuming face, protectively circling his arm around the goat... Really? Someone _clearly_ wasn't over the kidnapping issue huh. Luffy cursed himself, it wasn't the time to judge the man as four men clad in a black suit followed Sengoku, stomping his way towards Luffy. On the back of his head.. err... inside his ear rather... Luffy could hear Usopp freaking out for some reason. Did Usopp feel Luffy's stress level because that would be fucking awesome.

Luffy saw Law turn his head to check the commotion that was happening in the middle of the hall. Luffy cursed himself and begrudgingly left the tattooed man before he could turn around to face Luffy.

"Whoops, Usopp. You still there?" Luffy asked as he maneuvered through the crowd. Sometimes being short-ish had it advantages not that he would ever admit .

" _God! Since earlier man! I kept telling you_ -"

"Shhh, I'm doing things my way now. Tell Zoro and Sanji to proceed with the plan."

Usopp sighed and left a hissing sound in Luffy's ear. " _R-roger._ "

From across the room, Luffy paused for a moment. His eyes journeyed back to Tro- Trao- Trafo... Fuck it. Torao one last time. "Shit. Guess, I'm Cinderella."


	6. Of Aftermaths and Missing Agents

Hi guys! Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews!

I really appreciate it, it makes me pumped up and write mooorree! :3 ❤ ❤

This chapter might be a little confusing but i hope it will still suit your taste. hehe

Two more chapters are coming though so hope you guys like it!

 **-guilty-**

 **Of Aftermaths and Missing Agents**

At eight in the morning, the World Government Head Quarters had been bustling with activity. Hallways and offices were overflowing with agents and their staff more than the usual everyday scene. Sengoku arrived in his office with a giant mug of coffee in his hand sighing. The old man entered his office, nodding at the agents that greeted him.

Mondays... damn, how Sengoku hated them and it just became even more intolerable, even his weekend seemed like a 'Monday'. Made sense when he had to deal with the aftermath of events that transpired three days ago. He could've spent more time with his goat but work just had to come first, when you're dealing with a criminally insane stupid brat and his equally insane friends' antics, a man like Sengoku wouldn't be having a break soon.

He walked behind his desk and glanced out of the window in his office, he saw the pack of hyenas camping outside the Head Quarter's gates. "Goddamn media" he muttered, they just love to stick their noses into matters of the WG. Though the old agent already expected the place to be more chaotic, more packed with curious bodies trying to find out what the hell happened. The cover-up story he released made order out of the madness, well at least that had seemed to work a little. It would be bad for the WG if the story spread like wildfire, the trust of the populace and their sense of security would go down.

Various emotions appeared over the man's face as he recalled the moment he laid eyes on the stupid brat. It didn't take a person with precognition that all hell would break loose. The World Government Head sat stiffly his office chair scanning an open file that lay in front of him. He rubbed his eyes, then his temples, then his eyes again, he needed a whole lot of coffee for this, he thought as he stared at the face that he came to get accustomed to - Monkey D. Luffy - the reincarnation of Satan.

His elbow accidentally hit the ceramic resting on his desk spilling coffee as the mug hit the ground, the old man hissed. Seriously, his day couldn't get any worse he thought. That, in the same moment, his office door opened and its hinges begged for attention, Sengoku's eyebrows twitched as he heard his 'lovely' friend entered humming a song without a care in the world like his fucking grandson didn't just break in the most guarded facility in the world. Sengoku may genuinely have a bit of a tension headache going on.

Garp casually plopped himself down on the office couch opposite of Sengoku's desk, crossing his legs and stretching his arms on the back railing. Sengoku realized he needed a counseling psychologist before he broke past the barrier of his sanity.

"Something seems a little off today," Garp calmly said and Sengoku swore he would do his best to control his anger towards the Chief of Staff because the thought of not receiving his pension due to murder didn't taste good on the man's tongue. Sengoku chooses not to answer and proceeded to press a button on his desk that would call his secretary.

The Chief of Staff huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Can't believe that brat didn't even care to meet me!" Sengoku noted that was the 76th time he heard Garp said that and that was it, Sengoku finally fucking snapped.

"That's your problem?!" Sengoku bellowed, he stood up and leaned forward on his desk. "We have a stolen archive, a mole in the agency and a missing agent whose father had been calling me for god knows how many times. I can't even sleep because of the nonstop calls. Do you even have any idea what that man can do?!" Garp shrugged.

"And-" Sengoku paused composing himself before his brain exploded from anger " and all of it- all of it is because of your grandson! And all that concerns you is that he didn't meet you?! Are you fucking out of your mind?!" Garp looked at his friend it has been a while since he heard Sengoku actually curse, maybe he ought to get serious but did it even matter now? His grandson had gone and fuck it all. Garp had to hold on the hope that the brat didn't kill Trafalgar Law (he knew the brat wouldn't but that little shit can be unpredictable, he probably hung the guy somewhere or made him a shark bait) because like Sengoku, he didn't want to deal with an angry business tycoon.

There was a knock on the door and Sengoku sat back down on his chair. Garp's secretary entered bringing a flask and box, placing them on the table beside the couch and hastily leaving as Garp nodded at the young man. Garp opened the box. "Want some donuts?"

"No. I don't want a donut." Sengoku rolled his eyes and facepalmed at the question. What did he expect from Garp actually? He was better off training a jellyfish than getting a sensible answer from his colleague. Sengoku contemplated on resigning soon-before he gets an aneurysm. "What I want is your grandson in custody, Garp. I cannot deal with more trouble coming from that brat. God knows what that lunatic is planning next."

Garp sighed, he thought he should be offended by Sengoku calling the brat a lunatic, but the man really could not deny it cause Luffy did act like one. "Me too, Sengoku. Me too."

* * *

Penguin, Sachi, and Bepo had been hauled up in their office checking all the possible sites that the straw hats would hide. It had been three excruciating days since their boss had been missing. The last information they got was from the call that the tattooed man did inside the Archives and he was after Straw Hat Luffy.

Out of the commotion, no one really bothered to find him until the strawhats escaped from the HQ after the havoc they had caused. Bepo had to run to the Archive to check on their boss but there was no one there, the albino ran to the infirmary but it had the same result. Their boss was nowhere to be found.

Now the trio dug into their tenth donut box and sixth refill of coffee. "Do you think Straw Hat Luffy kidnapped him?" Bepo asked.

Penguin pondered for a bit and shook his head as he leaned against his chair. "It seemed impossible, the boss can fight Bepo. If we compare boss and Straw Hat Luffy, he would totally own Straw Hat."

"Unless someone else was with him," Sachi added as he stretched his stiff hands from typing relentlessly.

"Which was exactly the case." Bepo sighed. "Man, I can't believe Barto works for them.."

Penguin pulled his hat and ran a hand through his hair. "Dude, its either he is a fucking genius or we're just pretty fucking dumb that we didn't see through the act. Hell, he wasn't even acting for fuck sake, he blatantly proclaims his views on them. I bet he even preaches in alleys or some shit."

"Dude, we assumed he was just delusional, you know like those movies when the detective eventually takes the culprit's side... what's the word... Brainwashed. That but shit... now that you say it, we really look dumb huh, we got played big time man. " Sachi said rubbing his chin.

Bepo shook his head, Bartolomeo was not brainwashed, he had been like that since they first met him. There was a big possibility that he was, in fact, a mole from the straw hats and his acting skills were impeccable that even their boss didn't find out that the man worked for Straw Hat Luffy but it didn't make sense, the man's background didn't show any lapses. He worked for the World Government ever since he graduated the academy, the man even gained an award for exposing a drug cartel and was promoted due to exceptional service to the WG. Bepo rubbed his temples, no matter how many times he tried to decipher Bartolomeo, it just didn't make sense.

"Speaking of Barto, did they get anything from him?" Bepo asked. Penguin and Sachi both shook their heads.

"Man, three days and he said nothing. NOTHING. It's either he is fucking scared of what the straw hats might do to him or his loyalty towards them is just beyond human understanding. Do you guys even know how fucking scary that bastard Akainu could be when he's interrogating suspects?" Sachi rubbed his arms as his skin crawled just thinking of Akainu's despicable ways of getting answers.

"Shit. Good thing I'm not Bartolomeo." Penguin added returning to his previous task. He stared at the huge monitor in front of him, biting a donut as he scanned the list that appeared on the screen. Bepo dragged a chair and sat beside him a stack of printed reports on his hands, which he had covered with a highlighter pen.

The three of them jumped out of their chairs unmanly screaming as someone's phone started ringing. Bepo and Penguin glared at Sachi, they had the policy to keep their phones on silent when working imposed by their boss but now that the man was missing the idiot had been taking advantage. Sachi rubbed his nape sheepishly and grabbed the phone from his jacket pocket.

Penguin stared intently at Sachi. "Dude, you can stop glaring now, I made it silent again. Sheesh, Boss really did a good job on you guys, you almost act like him now." Sachi complained.

Suddenly Penguin ran to Sachi and hugged the man, lifting him off the ground and spinning him around. "Shit. I fucking love you man! Gimme a kiss." Penguin exaggeratedly protruded his lips on top of a contorted face slowly closing into Sachi lips. Sachi squirmed on Penguin's bear hug, stretching his neck as humanly possible as he can to avoid Penguin's disgusting lips. "Fuck off man!"

"Stop sexually harassing Sachi, Pen," Bepo said smacking Penguin's head as his way of helping the struggling Sachi.

"Ouch! That hurt man!" Penguin frowned letting go of Sachi. "Sorry." Bepo lowered his head.

"Don't fucking apologize Bepo, I should sue his ass." Sachi retorted wiping himself as if Penguin was contaminated by an incurable disease that could make him impotent.

"I-i just wanted to express my gratitude, okay?! D-don't assume it's more than that!" Penguin stuttered as he lowered his hat covering the color that spread on his cheeks. He may or may not have a slight crush on the other man. He cursed himself internally, he almost let his real intention slip off.

Bepo tilted his head. "Gratitude for what?"

Penguin quickly recovered and grinned, he ran towards his station where his monitors were placed motioning Bepo and Sachi to sit beside him. Bepo immediately followed suit while Sachi was still traumatized by the guy's previous actions, wary of another sudden 'attack'. Penguin started typing on his keyboard furiously with a grin on his face. Several boxes appeared on the screen as he typed commands and a map appeared.

"Holy. Shit." Sachi gaped looking at the image displayed on the screen.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bepo added leaning forward, rubbing his eyes making sure he was exactly seeing what he was seeing. Penguin couldn't stop grinning, he thought he was a fucking genius. He was fucking proud of himself for remembering that detail.

"D-d-do you think boss is still alive? Sorry." Bepo gulped. Penguin paused from his musings while Sachi's eye widened.

"O-of course Bepo, it's Trafalgar D. Water Law we're talking about. Even his glare can cause a heart attack." Sachi tried to console himself because fuck why else would be their boss' last location coincidentally be in Goa where Bartolomeo took the latest photos of the straw hats. But could they even trust that information from the green hair? Sachi cursed internally, shit's getting out of hand.

"I'm sure he's still alive. He just probably lost his phone or something." Sachi added and forced a chuckle.

Penguin rolled his eyes. "Lost his phone in Goa? That's hours away from here dude!... And-and why the fuck would he be there? Vacation?"

Bepo gulped hard. "Or they found his phone while he was trying to contact us, then they took it. They have a pretty damn good tech dude, he could easily tell that the GPS was on. Which means they have him. I was right all along, he was taken, hostage."

"Then..then we should go and save him!"

Penguin stared at Sachi like he just ate a sinful amount of doughnuts. " Are you out of your mind? You do know this is 'the' straw hats we're talking about, right? The people the World Government tracked for god knows how long, the people who pulled off the most ridiculous shit ever recorded in history!" Penguin bellowed flailing his hands.

"Then what should we do? We can't just wait. The longer we wait the fewer chances we'd end up finding his body...or even his lifeless body.." Bepo cringed, Sachi and Penguin glared at him. They couldn't just kill off their boss in their heads. "Sorry."

Sachi nodded. "We can't really tell anyone, what if they're like Barto." he paused and looked at Bepo and Penguin, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "What if you guys are like Barto..."

Both Bepo and Penguin rolled their eyes. "Dude, can you not? We could say the same to you, you know." Penguin sassed.

"Then what do we do?" Sachi sogged in his chair.

"We go there ourselves," Penguin said firmly. "They mess with our boss, they mess with us," Penguin said cracking his knuckles.

"So how do we do this?" Bepo asked as he saved the map on his phone.

* * *

The airstrip shimmered in the heat of the noonday sun as the plane from Raftel landed on Goa. Bepo looked out from the window, at the far end of the airstrip he could see Goa's lively High Town where the rich and famous lived. He woke Sachi and Penguin who had been sleeping the entire flight like they were just going to take a vacation.

Bepo didn't know why the two seemed so relaxed when they didn't even file a leave of absence nor asked permission to travel when the World Government was on its wits end on the straw hat's case. In short, they went AWOL and most probably wouldn't have a job to return to, worse case scenario they would return in black body bags and their deaths would be listed in the Top 10 Most Brutal Anime Death Scenes .

The trio exited the plane and proceeded to process their arrival. They already had called a rent a car shop to use for their 'trip' way back in Raftel, they were prepared for the infiltration they were going to do to save their boss from the clutches of the evil straw hats. The trio left the airport making their way to the car shop to take the car they rented.

Bepo rolled his eyes as Sachi and Penguin started to take selfies, posing like idiots. He sighed, he only did this for their boss, he tried to tolerate the two idiots as they continued not giving a fuck about their future endeavor.

After a couple of minutes of walking, the trio got their car and started heading to where their boss' last GPS transmission was located. The last signal recorded was thirty miles away from Goa International Airport outside of Gray Terminal. Bepo pinpointed it to Mt. Corvo, one of the multiple mountains of Dawn Island. He thought the straw hats were pretty clever to pick the most biologically diverse mountain full of complex forests, the said mountain was pretty much isolated, not even properly charted and explored. He looked into the distance and saw serrated mountains looming.

The trio assumed that the straw hats had been hiding in the mountain and their boss would be there. Or at least what remained of their bosses body, Bepo thought, he mentally slapped himself, he needed positivity, at least get to see their boss' body before they lose their own lives maybe? He sighed, he should stop worrying about that and be like Sachi and Penguin who basically gave up worrying and tried to enjoy the last moments of their short-lived existence.

Bepo took a deep breath as the car he was driving left the concrete road and reached the base of the mountain. He took a quick glance in the rearview mirror just to see if the idiots were still sleeping, huddling against each other. He pressed a button to open the window beside the driver's seat, the scent of woody air flowed into the car. Bepo thought, he would've appreciated how fresh the mountain air felt if only they were in better circumstances.

The car started climbing slowly to the crest of the mountain. Bepo already memorized the path he would take, the mountain might not be fully charted but Bepo was goddamn good at navigating. He saw a path made up of gravel, fresh car tracks were embedded on the damp road. He could see a few cars parked together and a bunch of kids running around. It was surprising how the people living in Goa started making camping areas around such mountain.

The mountain started to get steeper and steeper, Bepo positioned the car correctly, changing gears as the car shook passing over huge roots spread out on the ground. It didn't take long for them to reach a sharp turn and then an endless line of massive trees snaked back and forth up the steep slope. Juggling with maneuverability especially when the condition of the 'road' was not favorable would lead to disaster, Bepo had to make a decision, they had to walk a couple of miles.

He shook his head as he stopped the car in a small clearing, flat enough for the car to park. How the straw hats reached their base was a huge mystery to Bepo, but he had to give credit to whoever made their path, though it was most probably the Cat Burglar, the woman had mad skills. The albino man woke the two bodies huddled in the back seat. He explained the current situation and they had no other choice anyway, either way, they couldn't just barge in the straw hats territory with their car blazing.

Bepo, Sachi, and Penguin started walking through the thick foliage. Penguin started taking pictures -again- with Sachi as the model. Bepo just shook his head and continued maneuvering through the vast forest until he could see a wooden cabin in the middle of a flat surface. Right there and then he knew that it was the straw hats base as he checked their current location with his phone. He tilted his head, was that all of the straw hat's base? A damned wooden cabin? Bepo didn't even know if all of them could fit in there much more if they actually took their boss as a hostage.

* * *

A fluorescent fixture flickered alive with a slight buzzing sound as Franky changed the bulb in his workshop. It had been abnormally flickering since the past thirty minutes and the blue haired man cannot focus on his newly invented contraption. He lowered himself from the ladder and pushed it on the corner of the room. Several..no.. tons of metal strips scattered all over the floor, the man cringed, he needed to clean the goddamn room again before his black haired beauty girlfriend deem him worthy of severe punishment and the blue-haired man knew how scary Robin can be.

He started picking up the cluttered pieces and placed them on his working desk. He kicked aside some of the scattered metal, letting them roll under the desk. Franky nodded as he checked the room once more, it should be enough, he thought. He went to the surveillance room to check if there were suspicious movements around their base. Their raven-haired leader had been terribly upset as the news of their aircraft being bombed reached them. It was always unsettling for the crew to find Luffy sad and gloomy when the man himself was the epitome happiness. It was outright creepy and wrong. At least food and good company made the younger man act normal again.

Franky sighed, he made the aircraft himself and the crew had used a huge sum for the materials for the plane. He tried to cheer himself up, adding himself to the count of distressed members would just make things worse. On the bright side, no one was hurt and they haven't been tracked-so far. Guess they just need to finish their current expedition and find the treasure Luffy had been wanting to find since he started his adventures and Franky would create the most supppeer aircraft for the raven.

He tossed some tools that he picked along the way to the surveillance room. He bet Usopp forgot about them again, the techie had been acting less and less human since they arrived from Raftel. The guy would evade Luffy like he was Death in human form and would look around like dope dealer. Franky even wondered if the guy slept for three damned days, if Luffy was weird and all that shit while upset, Usopp was the exact image of a person who made a pact with a devil in a crossroads and it was about damn the devil took his soul. Franky wouldn't judge the man if he started drawing devil's trap inside the base.

Franky paused in the doorway of the surveillance room which was barely opened. He could hear someone muttering something inside. He 'squeezed' -or at least tried to - himself through the door, trying not to scare whoever was praying intently. Through the monitor lit room, he could see a figure crouching on top of one of the black office chairs place inside the room. Franky swore he saw Smeagol from The Lord of the Rings, he yelped and a pair of glinting eyes focused on him, letting out an audible screech. What the hell? Franky fumbled along the wall looking for the switch hoping the light would banish the demon crouching on the chair. Goddamn it, Luffy should've chosen a less secluded area, who knew what kind of supernatural creatures dwell in this forest, he thought.

As the room lit up from four lights placed strategically along the corners of the room, Franky could see Usopp covering his eyes with one hand and protectively hugging a bag on the other. "What the hell Usopp? Watchu doin' man?" The man seemed to lower his guard as he heard Franky's voice and plopped on the chair.

"Close the door." was all the curly haired man could say with his hoarse voice. Franky did what he was told not giving Usopp the reason to claw out his eyes cause the way the man looked, Franky guessed Usopp could even eat him raw and use his blood for drawing the devil's trap.

"Dude, you're currently winning the No Sleep Marathon," Franky said as he saw the dark circles under Usopp's droopy eyes as big as damn Jupiter. Usopp hugged the bag tightly and sighed heavily. "How's Luffy?"

"Eh? He's good, he was eating earlier before I left the lounge." Franky dragged a chair and placing it beside Usopp. "Why? Did you guys fight?"

"No. no," Usopp started shaking and Franky instinctively patted the man's shoulder only for Usopp to swat his hand "Sorry, instincts," The man sighed. "Remember how upset he had been with the plane?" Franky nodded. "Well, I was helping him in HQ right?" Franky nodded again, urging the man to continue hoping it would ease the man's discomfort. "You see, he did some things that he thought were awesome and he promised me that he would break some of my gadgets if I didn't take the footage." Franky nodded for the third time, his mouth shaped into an 'o' as he put the puzzle together.

"So, that's why you're hiding here and had been avoiding him cause you haven't gotten the footage yet?" Franky asked and Usopp nodded letting out a whimper. "I see, I see... Dude, Luffy's all better, I'm sure he already forgot about that and you're his best friend, I'm suupper sure he would forgive, it's not a big deal." Franky thought he deserved to go to hell, he really didn't know if Luffy was a-okay with the whole footage fiasco. But hey, he wanted to comfort Usopp, guess that got him a ticket to purgatory.

Usopp rummaged his bag for his phone, he tapped the device and scrolled through tons of pictures, he looked directly into Franky's eyes and showed an image of Luffy with his famous deadly puppy eyes. "Look at him..and- and tell me..convince me- that he is not the devil." Franky tilted his head, Luffy actually looked like puss in boots in the image, he didn't see the 'devil' that Usopp was talking about. "Huh? was all that Franky could muster to reply.

Usopp swallowed hard. " He- he had that face- when he asked me for the lock combination of my vault... where all my gadgets are hidden... from his destructive hands Franky!" Usopp started sobbing and Franky... Franky could sympathize with the man. He placed an arm around Usopp's back and patted the man.. "Hush Usopp, it's okay." As Franky was comforting his anguished friend, he caught a glance of three human shaped shadows on the monitors. He stood up and took a closer look, Usopp looked up too and rubbing his teary eyes.

"We have guests, Usopp." Franky pushed a button that sent a resounding alarm inside the closed underground. Usopp immediately sat down and started fiddling with the keyboard.

Franky put his hands on his hips checking the monitors for more shadows. "This is the first time we have visitors, right?" Franky said as he looked at Usopp who seemed to have recovered from his post-traumatic experience.

"Well yes, whether we like it or not, Luffy and the others are basically freaking celebrities with their last act at the World Government HQ." Franky nodded, that act had blown out of proportions, Sengoku must have pulled strings to make it sound like a simple encounter, he thought.

"Oh, there goes Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy with their suppper tranquilizer guns." Franky beamed.

"Man, look at Luffy, and convince me again, that he is not the devil himself," Usopp said as both him and Franky stared at Luffy's face-splitting grin, jumping up and down like they were playing hide and seek with the intruders.

 **-guilty-**

As i mentioned, i will post two more chapters, i just have to edit them cause they're reallllllyyy cheesy.

I blame 'The Greatest Showman' for it. I was listening to the soundtrack while writing and it just inspired me to write the ultimate cheesy moment with Law and Luffy.

But if you guys don't mind the cheesiness, I'd gladly post them A.S.A.P.

(I don't have a beta reader and i only consult my partner but sadly he won't be reading the future chapters anymore cause it's full blown bxb stuff :( )

Special thanks to DeadlyMind-07 for always leaving a review on every chapter. Thank you so much, you make me happy! Bless your pretty soul :D ❤ ❤

 **-guilty-**


	7. Even the Explorer Didnt See That Coming

Here goes nothing . Hope you guys enjoy!

 **-guilty-**

 **Even the Explorer Didn't See That Coming Part 1**

 **Three days ago...**

It occurred to Law that he wished he was drunk, drunker, drunkest than he ever had in his entire existence then get a hangover that would make him forget one year of his life.

Everything seemed so perfect. No, it was beyond perfect. Champagnes on their hands, smiles on their faces, shamelessly flirting with each other. The silver-haired cutie was much - much cuter, handsome, glowing ridiculously bright up close and downright fascinating, he blew Law's mind. One look in those expressive exotic green eyes and Boom! All Law could see were fireworks. Sparks flying, their chemistry was fucking undeniable and Law was sure as hell it was not a fluke. But what the hell just happened?

Suddenly a commotion broke out in the middle of the function hall. People ran in panic, bumping into each other, women desperately clinging onto their expensive bags and their husbands towing them behind gunning for the exit. Law wondered whether these agents were absent during the briefing on safety protocols, either that or clearly someone wasn't paying attention. Law was damn sure the first rule was 'Remain Calm', the exact opposite of what these people were doing, running around like headless chickens.

At the far end, Law could see Sengoku, cradling his goddamn goat, treading heavily in a hurry towards Law, four men escorted him, Law thought they looked like a boyband. Sengoku's face turned red and Law was fucking sure it wasn't out of embarrassment of bringing his goat because, let's be honest, Sengoku was prouder of having the goat as a pet than being the World Government Head. But scratch that, he decided to set his attention back to the silver-haired gu-.

Law blinked twice -slowly and rubbed his gray eyes as it settled into the spot next to the table where the silver-haired guy once stood... He was absolutely sure that the guy was standing just right in front of him a few seconds ago. Law touched him, as he touched Law. It was real. He clearly remembered the sensation as the guy's lithe finger rubbed around his chest, it was-delicious, made Law desperate to have more. There was also a distinct possibility that it was all in his head.

Hell. Maybe he didn't exist after all.

Maybe, Law's going mad. Maybe, it was a trick of the brain. Law's brain finally snapped and decided to fuck him up, made him hallucinate because he was too deprived of physical touch after months of abstinence. That should be the reason why the guy was so goddamn perfect. Right? Maybe he was the depiction of Law's ideal lover. Law cringed, he should consider seeing a shrink, file a leave of absence and go see a doctor for an MRI or PET scan.

But Law had just to prove he was real. There was a tug in his heart, screaming the guy was real - Law wished he was real.

Law stood frozen for a moment then turned around quickly. He looked around frantically in the hopes that he'd get a glance of the silver hair he longed to see again, stretching his neck to see pass through the chaos until his neck went stiff. He was disappointed to only spot his boss' flushed face as if every step he took added pressure to his body and made his face redder.

The older man finally stopped in front of Law after struggling through the panicked bodies. His face involuntarily contorts into an expression that screamed anger, frustration, and humiliation. Sure, Law had seen worse conditions of contorted faces but the man looked like he had a heart attack while being constipated and experiencing explosive diarrhea all at the same time.

Sengoku stared at Law as if his existence was an annoyance and he should be irradicated immediately. Law awkwardly stared at his boss he had absolutely no idea what the hell was going on. Law averted his gaze from Sengoku before it bore a hole on his face and checked the hall. Agents ushered the guests out of the building, trying to control the mass hysteria.

Law was actually starting to worry about his boss' state of mentality, the man had been frozen in front of Law for a couple of minutes now without blinking. He wasn't even sure if the old man was breathing and he was too scared to touch him and check, for the goddamn goat was sending him an icy gaze. Law swore he even saw the goat raise its eyebrows and looked at him like he was a piece of shit and the goat would be an ultimate being. Law found it offensive and glared at the goat. Great, he really thought he'd gone insane.

"Trafalgar D. Water Law" Sengoku finally spoke, his voice was monotonous it was eerie for Law. He acknowledged the man calling him and stared directly into his eyes. "Do you have any idea who you were talking to?" Law inhaled, so the guy was indeed real. Now he felt less bothered, at least he wasn't crazy. Law shook his head and by the gods, he wished he knew.

"Monkey D. Luffy"

"Hmm? Pardon?" Law cocked his eyebrows as he asked. What the hell was Sengoku talking about?

Sengoku clenched his jaw, seething with anger. Veins popping on his forehead, face flushed again. "That was Monkey D. Luffy!" Law's brows furrowed, he was goddamn sure the guy was not Monkey D. Luffy. First the guy had silver hair while Straw Hat Luffy had midnight black hair, second, his eyes were green and not brown.

"That's how he looked growing up. The brat made sure only Garp would find him here." Sengoku explained before Law could even open his mouth to prove his point that the guy was in fact not the infamous Straw Hat leader. Sengoku clicked his tongue. "Goddamnit!" Sengoku bellowed. Noticing the young agent's confusion, Sengoku continued. "He was disguised as a child due to security reasons. I should've told you the moment you took the case but that idiot Garp had convinced me that it wasn't important. Now, look at what happened!"

Sengoku looked at the young man, Law was looking at him as if he was crazy. Gods, Sengoku wished he was, he might as well be one at the end of the night trying to find out what that brat wanted to pull this time around. He patted Law's shoulder. "Trust me Trafalgar, that man was Monkey D. Luffy...I respected a friend's secret. Don't blame yourself for not knowing, it was a flaw on my part." Sengoku sighed, caressing his pet goat's hair. "Now, go find the man before he destroys the goddamn building."

Law stood frozen for a moment (hello darkness, my old friend), unable to compose a full thought, before he managed to pull himself out of his reverie. Law's emotions were out of sorts, he felt like he was hurled into a hurricane, his body's brutally slamming against every debris the violent winds carried. He cursed himself, the person who had been causing him sleepless nights was right in front of him and what did Law do? He fucking flirted with Straw Hat Luffy but Law was damned cause it felt good- _really good._

He turned slightly, taking a step back and took a deep breath. The place was deserted now, blaring alarms echoed in the empty hall, heels clicking as agents scattered and searched the place. Law couldn't help but partially blame himself and his superiors. If Sengoku and Garp had given him that crucial information about their subject, he would have no problem identifying him in his second identity but Law should've known better, the man had more or less little info, of course, he had a disguise and even used a different name. Law was a potato. A fucking potato might even be offended if they found out he compared himself to them.

No wonder his smile was fucking familiar, a smile that could make flowers grow in the middle of the hot blazing desert. He sighed dreamily. Law couldn't help but ask if he knew that it was Straw Hat Luffy, would he still react that way? Would he still be attracted? Law bit his lips, he knew the answers full well. He was sure it would be entirely worse from now on cause fuck Law and his twisted emotions, he actually found the man fucking irresistible and did Straw Hat's double identity (which were equally hot to boot) turned him on. That was it, Law was a lost cause.

Lost in his jumbled thoughts he unknowingly reached the restroom, a body bumped into him and all he could see was bright blinding green. He looked up at the man and sighed "Shit. Barto, what the hell. Watch where you're going!"

"B-b-boss! There's nothing inside. I already checked it." Barto stuttered. Law raised his perfectly shaped dark eyebrows. Why the fuck did Barto look like he just reached ultimate enlightenment? Law moved pass Barto but the man blocked him. "Barto, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Law said raising his voice, demanding an explanation.

Barto opened his mouth to speak but Law held up a hand to silence him. "Move," he said in a low menacing voice. The man promptly stepped aside, letting his somewhat pissed off boss pass. Barto bolted, he had other places to be.

Law gave each stall a heavy kick with his foot, the abused wooden doors slammed against the wall. At the last stall, a fleck of silver caught his eyes he slipped his hand back quickly flinging the door open. Law thought he was the prince and Straw Hat was his Cinderella but instead of a stained glass slipper, he gets a fucking wig. Creepy but he took it as a good sign. Maybe they'll end up like some fucking fairytale too. Law looked up and saw a vent, he grabbed the rectangular metal and it easily fell off. "Shit."

He then searched his coat pocket for his phone and began fiddling with it, calling Bepo. It rang three times before Bepo's voice resounded along with Sachi and Penguin obnoxious voices. Good, the idiots are together, it should be easier, Law thought.

"Bepo put me on the loudspeaker. Listen carefully, I want the three of you to go to our office. Sachi and Pen, check every camera in the entire HQ. Bepo, I need you to find where the vent in the east restroom in the function hall leads. Don't hang up. Go, hurry!" Law instructed.

After a few minutes of hearing rushed footsteps and heavy panting, Bepo informed Law that they were in the office. "Good, now where does the vent lead?"

"It has three exits boss, the underground storage room, main HQ building and the infirmary," Bepo informed through the tapping sounds that Law assume were abused keyboards. "Alright, how about the security cameras, did Sachi and Penguin find anything?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary boss." Bepo courtly answered.

"Alright, keep watching. Call me back if you see anything." Law said as he ended the call. He ran to the elevator and pressed the buttons relentlessly. "Shit. Lockdown." Law rubbed his temples, racking his brains as to where the hell he would look next. Law should have an advantage, he studied the straw hat's movements for the past month. If anything, they should be getting something from the World Government, an information they could not access even with the best-damned computer geek.

"Think Law," he muttered. If they couldn't get the info from the WG's computer system, it should be written ancient data. Narrowing his options and following his gut-instinct, Law ran like he never ran before, dashing outside the back door of the function hall and heading in a cluster of plants and bushes, he cut through it, gracefully leaping like a dazzling gazelle. He gave longer strides and raced towards the only place where the WG kept written records - the Archives.

Panting, sweating, Law loosened his tie and unbuttoned his jacket suit and showed his wallet from his back pocket and showed the guards his I.D and badge and was ushered into the Archives. The eerie yellow lights illuminated the roof-high bookshelves full of documents and ancient records. The shadow cast by the shelves made the room darker than it should be. Law grabbed his phone, he sighed in relief as he saw there was still a signal inside the closed room.

Clutching his phone and putting it on his ears, he dialed Bepo and the man answered right away. "Boss, we haven't seen anyone suspicious on the security footage. But there's a commotion outside of the function hall. The Straw Hats are here, three of them are currently wreaking havoc. It's ridiculous how shit's going down there."

"Which members?" Law hoped it wasn't Straw Hat Luffy. He fucking hoped he would end up in the Archives with Law and he would confront him, man to man. Face to face. And ask him out... Wait what? No, no. Law shook his head. He would take him into custody. Yes...That's right. Keep your shit together Trafalgar, he scolded himself.

"Roronoa Zoro, Blackleg Sanji, and Soul Brook. They're the crazy boss. OH, SHIT!" Law was surprised, he never heard Bepo cursed for as long as he met the guy. "What's wrong Bepo?"

"Boss, the security cam. Sachi and Penguin tried to move the camera and- and- it kept showing the same shit. Someone tapped through the surveillance system and placed yesterday's footage.

"Fuck. Call for back up Bepo, South of the HQ, The Archives." Law ordered as he scanned the place for any member of the straw hats.

"Roger, boss!"

* * *

Zoro and Sanji were getting bored. They had been itching to get some action. Knowing how Luffy couldn't follow even the simplest plan made especially for him, they should be able to have some fun soon. For now, they had been 'fighting' due to the stress of being cooped up in the van for far too long. Both of them knew the crew didn't buy any of their shit but for the fuck of it, they did still fight anyways. It was the adrenaline that they wanted and both men thought it was fucking sexy to see their partner eventually get mad.

A yelp from Usopp caught Sanji's attention. The guy had been typing furiously, Sanji was surprised that the keyboard keys weren't flying all over the place. Over the course of another minute, beads of sweat ran down the curly haired man's forehead. It was obvious, however, that he was upset and probably questioning his existence. Usopp stood and stared at Sanji like he was going to regret everything that was about to happen.

"Sanji, Zoro. Get over here." Both men scooted towards Usopp, the van really didn't give them much space to move especially when Usopp's equipment ate half of the space. Usopp pulled the drawer of the metal counter and grabbed the same device Usopp placed on Luffy's body. Looking at the device on his hands, Usopp sighed and muttered something over his breathe that Sanji could pick up as 'this is a stupid stupid massively stupid idea'.

"Something wrong, Usopp?" Sanji sniggered as he asked even though it didn't take a genius to know that Luffy fucked up the plan and was making his own shit. Sanji sighed as a hand slowly crept behind him, he nonchalantly smacked the hand that was subtly placed on his ass and earned a grunt from the Marimo. Stupid Marimo. He grabbed the man's wrist and yanked Zoro so he could stand beside him.

Usopp rubbed his nose and sighed. "Luffy wants you guys to 'proceed with the plan'. I don't even want to know what the hell this 'plan' is." Usopp groaned he was sure he would lose ten years of his lifespan by following Luffy's orders just for tonight. He cried internally, Usopp knew he shouldn't stress out since he dies a little on the inside everyday just interacting with Luffy. He looked at Zoro with a disheartened expression, shouldn't they tie him up? He would just get lost and add more trouble other than what Luffy already started. Usopp couldn't help but feel sorry for himself.

A menacing smirk appeared on Zoro's face. "Luffy took a while. I was getting bored." Sanji rolled his eyes at his partner's expression. Sanji thought that even if biologists tried to classify Zoro and Luffy, they wouldn't be able to, they'd have to create a whole new tree and it would be called the mind-boggling creatures of the universe. There was no question as to why Zoro worked under Luffy. They have obvious similarities, both of them are idiots fueled by danger. At least Zoro was on a leash with Sanji around, the other one was just impossible to subdue unless you put meat abstinence in the picture.

Usopp explained the current situation. The two men nodded. Usopp placed the mic on the men's clothing and asked them to use the earpiece... Seeing Sanji and Zoro placed the device properly, Usopp sat back on his chair and tested if the devices were working properly. Getting approving nods from them, Usopp sent a message to the remaining members waiting for the aircraft waiting for their escape.

"Listen here, the device I gave you can let you talk to Luffy and me. The four of us can contact each other through that." Usopp looked at Zoro. "Take this Zoro, no matter what you do, DO NOT. I repeat, DO NOT lose it. This right here is life and death okay?" Usopp pointed at a tracking device and Zoro groaned, the man begrudgingly stashed it inside his black jean's pocket shooting a death glare at Usopp.

The two men opened the van's door and stretched. Outside seemed so peaceful, Zoro thought it sounded fun to crash a party. It was a pain in the ass that Sanji and him had to walk a couple of blocks but it was goddamn better than being trapped in a tin can with Usopp's furious typing and Nami's nagging. Zoro winked at Sanji as he placed his swords on his hips and the extra tranquilizer gun that Luffy fucking loved so much for god knows what reason. "You ready blondie?"

"Always, Marimo," Sanji smirked placing two tranq guns on his hips.

Usopp couldn't hold it in. His curiosity was at its peak and he just had to ask. He dragged his chair near the door, earning a glare from Nami. "Guys..w-what's the plan?"

Sanji looked at Usopp incredulously. "Usopp, since when did Luffy had a legitimate plan? He only told us to enjoy ourselves."

Usopp gaped. "W-where are you going then?"

"Hell, most likely." Zoro sniggered.

"Gah!" Usopp pulled his black curly hair. "Can you guys at least take this seriously. All of you don't have any sense of preservation! Nothing at all!

"Dude, you meant self-preservation right? Unless you want us to make jam and pickles and all that shit." Zoro cocked his eyebrows. At least Usopp should know _that._

" _Right._ Thank you, Zoro for the kind enlightment. What a good time to be a smart ass. I don't give a fuck anymore, go do whatever your plan is. Usopp out!" Usopp slammed the door shut and plopped himself on his chair, waiting for Luffy's orders.

Zoro and Sanji finally arrived outside of the World Government Head Quarters after a few minutes of Sanji chasing Zoro who kept going the opposite way. Two of them calmly walked towards the gates. They were surprised to see the ruckus happening inside the HQ. Guests were rushing outside and agents were assisting them. The two men looked at each other and shrugged.

"You think it's Luffy?" Sanji asked as he waved at an agent who just noticed the two of them. Zoro chuckled. Damn Sanji was fucking hot. The agents started to advance carrying with them their guns.

"Well ain't that peachy. They have real bullets and we have blunt swords, your legs, and some stupid gun." Zoro groaned, swiftly he reached his waist and drew his swords from its sheath. The gracefully forged steel glinted in the light. He countered a rushing agent, hitting the man's neck with the hilt of his sword.

A moment later, there was a crack of gunshot. Sanji and Zoro dove into the parked limousines outside the building. "Why do I really feel like we're playing with a toy gun?" Zoro said as he pulled the tranquilizer on his hips.

Sanji rolled his eyes as he pulled his own gun, he wished he had a cigarette. "Geez, just shut up, will you. Either you use it or kill yourself using a sword in a gunfight."

"My, my ..Luffy will get mad if you badmouth his favorite gun. Yohoho." Zoro and Sanji turned around and saw a grinning afro man hitting an agent that was sneaking in a nearby parked vehicle behind both men. Zoro grabbed the agent's head and smacked him again for cowardly sneaking behind 'his' curlybrow. "Brook. How come you're here?"

"Yohoho, Usopp called the plane. He said you might need help, so here I am. Glad I joined, this seems fun."

* * *

Luffy felt like shit. He didn't want to leave _his_ Torao behind. He didn't even tell the sexy man his name. He felt his heart ache as he watched the man from afar but he didn't have the luxury to keep gazing at him as Sengoku was being an asshole. Why can't Luffy enjoy his precious time with his precious Torao?

Luffy sighed and ran to the bathroom. Luffy thought the WG should increase the salary of their cleaners, whoever was assigned to clean the toilets clearly wasn't satisfied with their paycheck as his nose was assulted with a puke-inducing smell... Luffy scrunched his nose. All the dust accumulated inside the vent as he crawled, inching slowly in the vent didn't help too. God, there goes his suit, Nami will fucking kill Luffy.

"Usopp give me a route to the vault where the poneglyph is located. The one given to me was a bit confusing. You should know where I am right now with all your nerd stuff." Luffy sniggered but covered his mouth quickly as he heard someone kick the restroom stall doors one by one. That someone stopped at the last stall and pry opened the air vent.

Luffy crawled faster towards the junction inside the air ducts. He heard a voice and Luffy's heart almost leaped out of his chest. It was the same sultry voice he heard that stole his heart - his Torao's voice, Torao was looking for him. Fuck. Was he mad at Luffy? Is that why he was looking for him? Or did Torao really just want to see him again and finish what they started? The raven head wished it was the latter.

Luffy bit his lips and waited for Torao to end his call, taking in every slice of happiness as he listened to his soothing voice... Luffy sighed as he heard a door slammed shut. "Hey, guys." Luffy raised the mic from his lapel, five people with the same device hummed. Luffy could hear gunshots ringing in the background. He hoped they're all fine, but for now, he had an important question. "What is love?" Luffy rolled his eyes as he heard a collective gasp.

 _"Really Luffy? You have to ask that right now?"_ Usopp facepalmed as he heard the most ridiculous question coming out of Luffy's mouth. There should be a right place and a right time to ask these kinds of stuff.

 _"Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more."_ Brook sang a reply as they pushed in closer to the HQ, clearing all the agents that were pursuing them.

 _"Love is alcohol."_ Zoro deadpanned earning a kick from Sanji. Sanji thought it was quite creepy for Luffy to ask but he guessed even Luffy deserved someone to love, in a romantic sense, if the guy was even capable of _that._

Usopp facepalmed, why did he expect to get a proper answer out of these idiots actually?

 _"Just shut the fuck up Marimo, you're not helping."_ Luffy could hear the duo go at it again.

"Shishishi, stupid Zoro. I'm serious, I mean, I know what love is but is it even possible to fall in love with a person you just met?" Luffy stared at the only view he could see, gray metal surface. It reminded him of Torao's beautiful eyes. He sighed, Torao was so dreamy, he thought.

 _"Yohoho, what did you exactly feel when she's around Luffy?"_

 _"It's not a she Brook. It's a he. And you guys won't like him one bit, he's a-"_

 _"So? who cares if they have the same sex? It doesn't matter, love is love."_ Sanji cut off Usopp even before he could explain.

"I-i..i get the urge to touch him, rip off his clothes off and trace my fingers on his muscles. God, if only you guys saw his pecs under his suit.. Gosh. 10 over 10. I want to rub my face on his bare chest, lick every inch of him and.. I-i get hard when i think about him."

 _"Too much information!"_ Usopp cringe and Usopp could hear everyone coughing as Luffy explained his 'feelings'. _"I'm sure that's not what Brook meant Luffy!"_

Luffy hummed, tracing hearts on the metal surface and writing 'Torao' with a heart beside it with his fingers. "Okay.. but...I don't know how to explain it, its like...I already ate a lot of meat and my plate is empty yet I'm still not full but there's this small piece of meat that suddenly appeared ...only one piece but you know... it filled my stomach right away."

" _Yohoho sounds like love to -me Luffy. But it depends, only you can decide when you're in love. There's no timetable that you should follow for when you're gonna -fall in love. It's random. It may be due to- physical attraction but you know, even lust can lead to true love."_ Brook sagely nodded with his answer, he hoped it enlightened the youngster.

 _"Shit, that's so deep man but you see they're the exact opposite."_

Loneliness crept in and Luffy recalled the circumstances quite clearly. No agent in their right mind would be attracted to someone like him - a criminal chased by the World Government. He cursed himself for being foolish, he should not have gotten involved with Torao in the first place. Luffy groaned, his chest hurt. If this is what it feels to really fall in love then he'd rather not experience it at all, he thought. But was it really love? Or was just Luffy head over heels for Torao's ridiculous bewitching looks. Luffy sighed, he shouldn't think about this right now. "Focus," he told himself.

 _"Usopp shut up. Listen Luffy, love doesn't care -about comparisons, it accepts everything. Not to sound cheesy but if that -person makes you whole and makes -you love yourself then that... that's love"_. Sanji was looking at Zoro when he said this and Brook could've sworn he almost got diabetes. "Ah must be good to be in love," Brook muttered under his breath.

Luffy paused and pondered. He looked at the name that he traced on the duct. "I guess I'm in love."

 _"That's good and all that shit, but aren't -we forgetting something? Hello people? We're doing a mission here. We don't -have time to philosophically understand love.- Damn it, Luffy move before they find you and- you people outside, better not get shot cause Chopper is not here."_ Nami nagged. Usopp sighed, at least Nami knew which one to prioritize though Usopp was a hundred percent sure Nami's only concern was the treasure.

On the other hand, someone in the World Government Archives was having trouble. Trafalgar Law had been having a severe fit of sneezing for the last five minutes. He thought he was going to be sick that should explain the weird electrifying shivers and tingle in his body but at the same time, he felt warm and fuzzy. Law thought it was arthritis because damn, his knees got weak when he thought of someone's fucking smile. He was a doctor but self-diagnosis was not good at all, he'd rather have a second opinion for he didn't know what the fuck was happening with his body. He nodded at his logical thinking and sat on the floor of the corner of the room, waiting for the only person he would like to see, Straw Hat Luffy.

* * *

The cheesiness is about to start...dun dun dun..

 **-guilty-**


	8. The Explorer Didn't See That Coming 2

**Even the Explorer Didn't See That Coming Part 2**

 **Three days ago..**

Luffy had been stuck in the ducts thinking of ways to find his Torao. It seemed hard but Luffy knew it wasn't impossible, heck, the harder it was, the more challenging it was for Luffy and everyone knew he loved challenges. The World Government should be bustling with agents right now considering they have to find Luffy and stop his crew from throwing a fit outside their building. Luffy still needed to reach the Archives, deep inside his erratically beating heart, he hoped Torao was looking for him, Usopp did say something about Torao specifically chasing them and did that sound like 'destiny' for Luffy.

He had told his friends about his 'feelings', he needed advice, he never felt this way for anyone before. Even his former partner didn't come close to the attraction he felt towards the other raven head. His friends had different views on what he was feeling but he might as well call it love. He sighed, everything would be clear if he could just gaze at the center of his affection once again. Luffy was captivated and hell he sure hoped his Torao felt the same. For now, he should focus on the task at hand and get this over with.

 _"Usopp, are y-" " This is Nami, Luffy. Usopp -have his own device he can still -hear you but I deal with this- better. I memorized the air ducts -connecting to every room in the HQ. Listen, you're -at the intersection, enter the left duct and -turn left again when you see another junction."_ Luffy followed Nami's instructions, he crawled towards the next point. There was a high drop, he rolled on his back. He thanked his body's flexibility, now wouldn't that be useful with Torao too? Shit. Not the time to be fucking thinking of inappropriate thoughts Luffy, he thought as he banged his head against the metal duct.

The explorer sighed, the duct was so tight he had to squeeze sideways and contort his body. After struggling, his position finally allowed him to push himself forward, his legs reaching the other end of the duct. He deliberately inched the rest of his body until his extremities were now holding himself up from the long drop below him. Thankfully, this part of the duct wasn't as smelly as the restroom entrance.

"Nami this is a long drop. I just have to go down right?" Luffy asked as he stopped himself from sliding down with his shoes. The sleeves of his vest didn't help one bit, the fabric was too smooth and it didn't hold any friction against the metal duct.

 _"Yes, you have to go down. Just be careful, that's 65 feet high -not including the height of the room below the vent."_ Luffy braced his legs and push them hard against the metal duct's surface to act as a brake. He carefully lowered himself, despite his carefulness (yes he tried), his dress shoes really didn't give much friction as he started descending, the slide became uncontrollable and he fell down along with the airvent and his body fell flat on the ground.

 _"What was that Luffy? Are you okay?"_ Nami voiced her concern as she heard a huge thud coming from Luffy's end. Momentarily stunned and his breath hitched and came in ragged gasps due to the impact. He rolled on his back groaning and clutching his stomach, it took a while for him to regain his breathing. "I- I'm o-okay." He said through rapid breaths.

 _"Alright, now you should -see a door, get out from there and head -straight. Don't worry about the camera's -Usopp already dealt with it. It's all clear."_

"Roger," Luffy whispered, he sat up slowly and winced as his ribs shot a bolt of pain into his right side. He would never kiss the goddamn floor ever again. He raised his knees as he supported his body with his hands. Able to stand up, Luffy headed to the door and opened it gently poking his head through the gap. He brushed off the dust from his suit, he needed to look presentable in front of Torao. God. He hated how he contradicted himself, part of him wanted to find Torao and half says to grab the shit and go. He was in deep shit huh.

Luffy reached the end of the hallway."Nami, the door's locked and it has a passcode."

 _"Usopp's working on it. Hold on for a sec-"_

"Shit Nami. Someone's coming." Luffy hid at the side where the transparent part of the door ended. He looked around for a way to hide, he looked up and cringed. Now would be the time to magically grow one foot taller. He stepped back and jumped, he could almost reach the freaking height insulting pipes. A bit more, he thought, as the tip of his finger hit the metal pipe. He repeated the process until his left hand gripped the pipe.

Before Nami could give Luffy the code, the door flung open. A tall muscular man wearing a security uniform came out of the door whistling. Luffy hung tight on the pipes, now his name really fucking suited him. 'Monkey' D. Luffy. The man stopped at the door as his pager resounded a message taking his precious time. Luffy internally cursed as a bullet of sweat from his forehead trickled down to his cheek. The man shuffled below him looking alarmed and dashed towards the far end of the hallway where Luffy came from.

Luffy immediately slipped his hand through the door preventing it from fully closing and squeezed himself through the gap. He wiped the sweat from his face and chuckled. "Did you fucking see that Usopp, Nami?! That was so cool!"

 _"Yeah- Yeah- Whatever Luffy."_ Nami and Usopp simultaneously deadpanned. Luffy huffed, they should at least find that entertaining and appreciate Luffy's ninja moves. It wasn't easy!

 _"There are two guards -up ahead Luffy and you'll find the Archives- if you go straight. Don't bother with the poneglyph- you can't freaking carry it nor did you- bring any camera."_ Luffy pouted, he wanted to but some stock up long-nosed friend didn't want another casualty along with his five other cameras. Stingy. _"Remember what Robin said. -There's a record in the Archives. You just have to do something -with the guards. Knock em out if you have to, just be careful."_

Luffy grinned as a brilliant 'plan' popped into his brain. He slapped himself hard on the cheeks and rubbed his nose until it was red. He completely loosened his tie and removed his jacket suit and swung it over his shoulder, draping a portion of the right side of his back. He completely unbuttoned his undershirt and walked towards the guards, his ear was splitting due to Nami's incessant screeching asking him what the fuck he was doing.

One of the guards noticed Luffy and walked towards him. "Sir, this is a restricted area. You're not supposed to be in here." The guard said firmly in an authoritative tone and blocked Luffy.

"But the man guard*hic* you seeee, he told me *burp* the way to the *hic* evacu-cu-cuation is here." Luffy sluggishly pointed the hallway behind the guard. Luffy could see the other guard sigh and rubbed his temples muttering something about stupid parties and stupid people getting drunk and how he would give the new guard who let Luffy in a piece of his mind. _Whoops~_

"Sir. I'd like you to follow me." The guard repeated, holding Luffy's arm. Luffy flailed both of his arms and pouted. He jabbed his finger into the man's chest, poking it over and over.

"Hey! Where do *hic* think you're touching! *hic* Th-th-ats - sexual hara-harassment! *hic*" Luffy stumbled and the guard grabbed his waist, supporting his body to stand straight.

"Sir, follow me or else you will end up getting dragged and detained." Luffy frowned. "But you see *hic*" I wanted to p-p-pee *hic*. Luffy unbuttoned his trousers and started pulling it down. The first guard started freaking out holding Luffy's trousers up. The second guard finally assisted his friend and stopped Luffy from completely baring his ass. Now if only Torao was here to see _that_ , Luffy thought.

"Grab him," the second guard told the first guard and then faced Luffy. "You can sober up in one of our cells, sir." Before the second guard could hold Luffy's arms he swiftly grabbed the taser gun buckled on the guard's hips and shot it directly at the man's bare neck. The man dropped down making a thudding sound, his body convulsing due to the electroshock. The first guard grabbed his pager, Luffy kicked the device and it went flying out of the man's reach. Luffy tackled the man towards the wall and kicked his balls. Luffy cringed as he hit the spot, the man slowly slid against the wall holding his crotch eyes almost popping out of his sockets.

"Sorry about that" Luffy crouched to face the man and held the taser gun on his neck. "This too," he added as he shot the gun. Luffy bent over and checked both of the guard's pockets and grabbed the man's I.D and a keycard. He stood up and rubbed his hands together as if cleaning dirt from it. He wore the jacket suit again, putting the man's belongings inside the pocket.

"Woooo. That was awesome!" Luffy beamed, he started dancing with reckless abandon and then paused as if he realized something. "Please tell me you got that on record Usopp cause if you haven't, I swear I'm going to break something and you're not gonna enjoy it." Luffy looked at the security camera on the corner of the hall and did the 'im watching you' gesture with a dead serious face and started walking towards the end of the room.

 _"L-Luffy, d-don't worry. I got it. Now go move and get this- over with before we all get killed. O-okay?"_

Usopp shivered and swallowed hard while listening to Luffy and looking at the monitor. Satan must've had a twin and lived in the human realm cause Luffy did look and sound like one...Usopp decided he would hide all his gadgets before he Luffy could get them first. He nodded to himself, that seemed plausible.

 _"Luffy watch out. We don't have eyes -inside the Archives. I confirmed with -Robin, the book should be at the -far end shelves. Well, it has a name. Poneglyph obviously. The book is red with ancient -scriptures on the bind. You must hurry- the only exit is the same way you went- through."_ Nami explained.

 _"Hurry up Luffy. It's getting boring here."_ Sanji said.

 _"Shishishi, dude you should've seen me, I was so cool. I wish Torao could've seen me too."_

 _"Who the fuck is Torao?."_ Zoro groaned.

 _"Apparently, the freaking agent who was tasked to chase after us.I tried to explain it earlier but you guys always stopped me halfway."_ Usopp butted in.

"Hey, he's hot. So what if he's an agent? Doesn't mean I cant date him, Sanji said so." Luffy retorted, pouting his lips. He wanted Torao and he was damn sure he would make Torao want him too.

Luffy rushed towards the locked door and swiped the card he got from the guards. The scanner turned green and he pushed the door gently. The place was badly lit, seriously, the WG needs their shit to get fixed. Who reads in a place like this? Luffy shook his head. He'd have to grade the place zero, Sengoku must have kept all the funds to make a playground for his goat. That sounded realistic. Luffy proceeded to the last shelf on the end of the room tiptoeing from one shelf to the another.

He looked up at the tall shelf. He narrowed his eyes, even a fucking shelf dare mock his height. Great. Probably Luffy just had issues with his height, it was normal! He scanned the room for a sliding ladder. He cursed, just what the hell was wrong with this archive, they should freaking hire Franky to renovate the entire abomination. He sighed as he failed to find the one thing that could end his dilemma, sometimes life really rubs it on his face how short he was.

Luffy squinted his eyes and started looking for the book. After a while, he finally found it, now the question was how the hell was he supposed to take it from that high place? Luffy shook the shelf, it seemed sturdy. It would be a pain in the ass (literally) if the thing broke and he falls. He carefully hoisted himself up, gripping tightly on the compartment. He inched himself slowly and grabbed the book, loudly thudding as he jumped down.

The proud raven smugly looked at the shelf. "Ha! How about that huh? Guess who's short now !" Satisfied after letting out his pent-up frustration with the shelf, Luffy stared at his hand, grinning like an idiot totally proud of himself for getting the book like the pro that he was. He was about to bolt out of the archives when he saw a shadow in front of him, he stood frozen as he raised his head.

"Destiny," Luffy muttered under his breath.

"Uhm.. hi? uhh. You.. you come here often?" Luffy smiled sheepishly, subtlely hiding the book behind his back. Piercing gray eyes studied his bare chest and Luffy couldn't help but fucking blush. Torao was _there_ , standing in front of _him_ , his hands resting on his chest crossed like he was about to scold Luffy and boy did that view made Luffy 's body ache down below. Shit.

Luffy hovered his chocolate brown eyes over Toraos loose vest, how was it possible to look so fucking hot under the dimmed lights. _"Luffy who's there?"_ Luffy heard Usopp, his voice hushed. He will not answer Usopp, fuck him and his cockblocking schemes. This time, Luffy would make things right.

Law bit his lips fucking hard to not laugh at the adorable display he just saw. Fucking Straw Hat just scolded the goddamn shelf, wasn't that priceless.

He internally slapped himself and sighed. He had so many questions to ask. Law wanted to reach out to the younger man. He knew it was wrong. Wrong in all fucking senses. He already briefed himself to not get pulled into the man's pace, he was fucking dangerous - _extremely dangerous_... as the sweat from the young raven's neck ran down his bare toned chest, gleaming through the yellow lights...If Law could just lick it a bit... _just a little bit_. Holy Shit.

Law's heart wasn't beating faster, he swore it wasn't. Get a fucking hold of yourself Trafalgar Law, he scolded himself inwardly.

"Give me whatever is behind you Straw Hat." Law congratulated himself for talking straight.

Luffy genuinely gasped "My.." his big black eyes sparkled under the lights. ".. Aren't you bold Torao." Luffy bit his lips and started fidgeting. "Isn't Torao moving too fast?" " _Holy shit Luffy, That's him, isn't it? Please think Luffy, someone tell him!"_ Usopp panicked, there should be a limit to how "adventurous" Luffy could be, who considers their nemesis a fucking love interest?

 _"Just leave him alone, Usopp. He's a grown man. He can fucking do whatever he wants."_ Zoro retorted. Luffy could get whoever the fuck he wanted. Zoro was sure Luffy could manage anyone even a fucking World Government agent.

Law tilted his head and cocked his eyebrow he didn't particularly like how Luffy butchered his name and made it a nickname but it felt somewhat special. The smaller raven gave him a nickname and did it make Law's heart flutter. Then he realized what he just said.

"Shit. T-that's not what I meant Straw Hat!" Holy shit Trafalgar, you fucking stuttered. Now he would think you're fucking lame. Wait..what? Get your shit together. The fuckable man in front of you _is_ Straw Hat Luffy, an infamous criminal. Moral code and ethics-wise, it was so wrong in so many levels.

Law struggled internally, he had a pretty defined view of the world from which one was good and which one was bad. What was right and wrong. But right now, he faced the man that crumbled all those walls of values he built around him and fuck he was actually willing to let it crumble. He wished Luffy would break all that shit like the uncontrollable force that he was until Law couldn't say no.

Law cleared his throat. "Straw Hat Luffy, give me the book and this will be over."

"No." the smaller raven bluntly replied. Luffy frowned, he didn't want _this_ to be over. Was Torao playing with him all along? Was it just a ploy for him to catch Luffy?

"I don't want this to end the wrong way." Luffy might be an infamous criminal but he didn't hurt anyone did he? Not only was Law drawned to him physically, the days he spent investigating him made Law think the younger raven was one of a kind. He'd like that awesome piece of cute little shit on his bed. Law groaned, what the fuck was happening to him?!

"Me too Torao. But you see, I _really really really_ need this book." _"Oi, Luffy are you out of your mind? Stop dawdling and head to the nearest EXIT. E -X - I -T."_

 _"Yohoho, Usopp, let Luffy talk to the man. He might be able to convince him. Love conquers everything."_ Usopp sighed, this wasn't the time to act all romantic. There sure hell was nothing romantic in a fucking prison cell. Why couldn't anyone see the danger Luffy was in? Did all their brain cells decide to go on hiatus?

"Then, I have no choice but to take you by force," Law said firmly but shit did he doubt he could actually hurt the guy.

"I thought you were bold but I didn't know it was to _this_ extent Torao, even forcing me. You can just ask nicely, you know. Like _please Luffy_." Luffy purred and winked. Luffy couldn't help but tease his Torao. He was so fucking adorable Luffy could do one hundred backflips just seeing Torao blush.

Fuck, Fucking Straw Hat. Could he fucking not misunderstand what Law was trying to say? Cause that.. that didn't help one bit. He was freaking tempted to actually ask. Who knows what special prize he could get for being a good boy _..right_? Law groaned. "You know what I mean Luffy."

 _"Oh first name basis."_ Zoro, Sanji, and Brook said simultaneously.

 _"Oh My God. Can we not act like we're watching a goddamn shoujo anime?! Nami do something?!"_ Usopp looked pleadingly at Nami. She should think that the situation was ridiculous right? Nami seemed to have pondered for a while. Holding her chin and rubbing it.

"Give me the book... I called for back up Luffy. They should be here soon. Better come with me of your own free will. I don't want to see you forcefully dragged out of here." Law could feel his heart tear piece by piece as he saw the frown on Luffy's face. He was sure he was going to hell for making such a cute guy sad.

"See Torao, you care about me." Luffy paused and moved closer. "Why don't you come with me and you know..Uh..be..be.. together or something like that." Luffy bit his lips and averted his eyes from Law's, he internally prayed that Torao would consider it. Please _please please_ , he repeated the chant over and over.

Law couldn't believe what he heard. Luffy just casually asked him to go with him. Did he think Law was easy? But why did Law thought it was fucking nice like it actually sounded _good_. Law would probably regret this day, he thought, as he slowly moved closer towards Luffy.

 _"Luffy, listen to me! He called for fucking back up. Scram Luffy! Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred!"_ Usopp frantically screamed.

" _Luffy, remember the time we made a rule not to take hostages_?" Nami finally spoke after a while of sagely weighing things. This was Luffy's first true love after all. Sure it was a bad idea but seriously it was Luffy, the universe could even rearrange the planets for him.

"Yes, Nami. I do." Luffy answered as he stared at Law and motioned that he was talking to someone. Law nodded. Wait. Why was Law letting Luffy plan something with his crew?

 _"What do you mean Luffy? I don't understand."_ Nami cried out feigning ignorance. Zoro, Sanji, Brook couldn't help but snicker.

 _"Oi! What the fuck?! You're not implying he fucking take that agent as a hostage right?_ " Usopp slammed the metal counter and flinched.

" _Usopp, who would've known you got balls under that curly hair and long nose._ " Sanji voiced out. Usopp narrowed his eyes since when did the issue became his physical features. They're all ganging up on him! _"Hey! No hitting below the belt and abducting someone is fucking illegal!"_ Usopp bellowed.

 _"Last time I checked we're all illegal."_ Sanji hummed.

 _"Don't get sassy on me Sanji! Luffy listen to your best friend, whatever your planning, its a very very bad idea."_

 _"Yohoho, I know I'm old and outdated but I know there's no crime if there are no witnesses."_

"Torao, my friends said I should take you as a hostage but I don't want that." Luffy frowned, he didn't wanna play that way. He wanted Torao to come of his own accord.

 _"What the hell?! You didn't have to fucking tell him! That's not how abduction works Luffy!"_ Nami yelled and Luffy winced. Seriously, Nami could be freaking loud, even louder than Usopp.

Law found it sweet that Luffy thought kidnapping him was a bad idea. Law's fucked, isn't he? Yeah, he was. He weighed the possibilities, at the end of the day no matter how attracted he was to Luffy, no matter how much his heart was beating he might as well have an arrhythmia, he was an agent and Luffy was a criminal. But did Law want to let Luffy go? **No.** That was his firm answer. Sure this was all fucked up, they just fucking met but it felt so fucking right. Now that Law thought about it, it was like the universe conspired for them to meet. First, he was transferred toLuffy's case. Second, he couldn't stop thinking about him. Third, when he finally saw him, it was love at first sight (he guessed). Fourth, meeting him like this, in the archive. Yes, it was destiny.

Luffy looked at Torao who stood very still for a moment, and it was evident from his face, which was flushed and troubled, that a struggle was going on in his mind.

Law sighed. He would just have to man up, wouldn't he? "I'm gonna ask you a question. I need you to answer it honestly, Luffy." Law never wanted anyone ever as much as he wanted Luffy. Fuck the World Government, fuck his work. Fuck Sengoku and Garp. Law would try to work this out. He took a deep breathe as Luffy nodded and smiled. Fuck he just wanna grab the man and kiss him hard until they both run out of breath.

"You're not doing this to.. to.. get rid of me, are you?" Law gazed directly into Luffy's bright brown eyes. He could drown there and he wouldn't mind. Law's really in too deep, it's ridiculous.

"Silly Torao. I like you." Luffy blushed "I- I would never do something like that." Luffy stared into Law's hopeful gray eyes. "You're... not doing this either for that purpose ..right?" Law moved closer. They were an inch away from each other, their loud hearts beating erratically, dancing to each other's rhythm. Luffy smelled like summer, sunshine, sweet honey and meat. All Law wanted was to bask in his presence.

"Of course not," Law said softly slipping his hand gently into Luffy's hips. "This might sound so cheesy but the first time I saw you... I-i knew I already want you, I was mesmerized, captivated, enchanted by you... I-i know its stupid. I'm an agent and you're...you're what you are."

 _"Holy shit. That really is fucking cheesy. Luffy try to check if he's made up of cheese cause he fucking sounds like one."_ A flabbergasted Nami said and Luffy could hear sniggers from Sanji, Zoro, and Brook. Luffy couldn't help but smile.

"It doesn't matter what we both are Torao... Love- i know it's too early to call it love..but-love doesn't work that way. We could be forbidden lovers! like..like Romeo and Juliet without... you know.. the dying part.. or.. or-" Luffy tried to find another example so Torao couldn't say no, it worked like that in school exams right? The more example the more chances of getting a high score.

"Bonnie and Clyde wrecking havoc together, I wouldn't mind that. Without the murder part, of course." Law added smiling at his.. _his_ Luffy.

Luffy gasped. "You're perfect.- But ...do you really wanna leave.. everything?.. I mean.. you have a life, and the World Government is after me.." Luffy grasped the book with one hand and placed the other on Law's neck. This must be how the aliens felt during their first contact on earth, Luffy thought as Law's warmth seeped through his hand. Luffy closed his eyes and soaked in Law's essence.

"I can always start a new one with you," Damn Trafalgar, good fucking job, Law thought as he smirked seeing Luffy blush. Luffy quickly turned his head and looked down, trying to hide his adorable blush. Law lifted his chin gently until Luffy faced him again. "Don't look away, you don't know how beautiful you are at this moment, Luffy." Law said softly, he sounded so fucking cheesy he might as well classify himself as dairy. But fuck that, he deserved _this._ He deserved to be happy.

 _"Yohoho, now that's romantic."_

 _"I still think this is a fucking bad idea."_ Usopp won't change his mind as he removed his headset. He had enough of the cheesiness. He'd die cringing if he would listen for more.

 _"Give it a chance Usopp. We'll see what he's made of."_ Sanji added. About time someone gets a hold of Luffy so he does not end up dying.

 _"If he hurts Luffy, we'd fuck him up real good he'd rather wish he's dead ."_ Zoro deadpanned.

" _Ugh, as long as he doesn't get any split on the treasures, I don't give a fuck. Just hurry up would you, we don't have all night."_ Nami sighed.

Luffy forced himself to stop blushing and chuckled. "What's so funny?" Law asked, he wasn't too cheesy for Luffy to laugh at him... _right..? right?_

"My friends are funny, is all... We should go now Torao. Before your 'back-up' comes." Luffy teased. Law rolled his eyes, his boyfriend.. fuck did that sound good. So his boyfriend can be a fucking smart ass. The taller raven gazed at Luffy's face, and then he slowly bent down to kiss him..but before they could taste each other's lips, the door flung open making the two jump from their position. Luffy clutched the book tightly and Law protectively placed his arm in front of Luffy, hiding the smaller raven behind him.

"Luffy-senpai!" Barto screamed, it echoed in the closed room. Luffy beamed and Law cocked his head. Luffy immediately dragged Law towards the green haired man.

"Barto!" Law looked at the bouncing Luffy, obviously happy to see his green haired the fuck was happening? Barto stared at Law like he was a pest holding his god. Law smirked and pulled Luffy closer towards him.

"W-what are you doing to Luffy-senpai, b-boss?! Let him go!"

"Don't worry Barto. Torao's fine. Shishishi. What are you doing here, I thought you already went out?" Luffy tilted his head.

"That... I can't there are ten more agents coming this way senpai..." Law cursed internally, he shouldn't have done that. But who knew it would end up this way? "You need to get out of here, I'll mislead them. Take them somewhere else."

"What?! No! I can't do that. What about you? Isn't that like..like.. whats that word..betrayal or something like that?" Law watched the interaction, did Luffy install Barto in their ranks? Or did Barto's delusion set him to this track? Law rolled his eyes. Who the fuck was he to judge the man now, he basically became their subject's new boyfriend 3 minutes ago. Well, shit. Guess there was no turning back, not that he would want to. Law gripped Luffy's waist tighter. The younger man looked at him. "You okay, Torao?" Law nodded.

"It doesn't matter senpai, you did the same for me. I already helped you earlier and I'm still fine, this is nothing." Barto darted his eyes to Law and glared at him. " You" he pointed his boss, no. He pointed Trafalgar. "Luffy-senpai said you're okay. You better keep Luffy-senpai safe."

"Senpai, I'll see you again. I'll drag them away from here and both of you get the hell out of here." Barto dashed out of the room leaving Luffy and Law behind. "What just happened?" Law asked the smaller raven.

"I'll explain it later. We have to go. I can't risk getting caught with the book and.. you.." Luffy blushed. Law wanted to kiss his new boyfriend but they really needed to get out, the thought of spending their honeymoon phase in a freaking interrogation room or worse prison cell talking to Sengoku would fucking suck big time and Garp.. the crazy bastard would castrate Law if he knew Law was now dating his grandson. That kiss could fucking wait until later, they have all the time in the world.

* * *

Panting and heavily sweating, Luffy knocked on the van's door after they sneaked out of the WG Head Quarters, towing his Torao behind. He didn't like leaving Barto, Luffy swore to himself that they'll find a way to contact him again. Law should be able to, Barto worked under him, Luffy thought.

The door opened, green hair, blond, an afro and long nose stared at the two raven heads. Law had never felt so intimidated in his entire life. He could feel their gaze bore into him, guess he had to work his way to prove himself that he really wanted Luffy. They would not trust him that easily, he was an ex-agent after all. That sounded weird on his lips but fuck that, he choose Luffy.

"Welcome back, Luffy. yohoho. You must be this, Torao Luffy talked about." Brook gestured for them to get in. Zoro patted Luffy's messy hair and the raven head smiled.

"Law... My name's Trafalgar Law." Law didn't mind Luffy calling him 'Torao' but when it came to other people, that was a different story.

"Trafalgar.. you have no idea what you got yourself into, don't you? Good luck, man." Sanji nodded at the ex-agent. Bless his soul, Sanji thought.

"Enough of that! take a seat before they find us here. We don't have time for pleasantries." Nami shouted from the driver's seat. Law examined how the crew interacted, it was totally different from what he read. He thought they were working under Luffy's order.. well probably they did but they seemed more like a family... That was nice...

"Can we get food on the way, please? I'm hungry." Luffy whined, sitting beside Law, still clutching the book like it would fly off if he even let go for a second.

"We're running away from people Luffy, we don't have the time to freaking stop at a drive-thru to buy food. Deal with it!" Usopp finally spoke. He stared at the agent from head to foot, he fucking had tattoos all over his body. Luffy really fucked up this time. Of all the people, why this one? He would rather prefer a certain redhead Luffy brought to their old apartment before and he didn't even liked that guy either.

"But Usopp" Luffy continued to whine, pouting as he used his puppy eyes on Usopp, the long-nosed man turned around quickly, avoiding his best friend's ultimate weapon. That time, Law realized that his boyfriend was a goddamn dangerous, manipulative man. He'd be alright, right?

"You." Zoro stared at Law. "Shit's just starting for you. Good luck. You hurt Luffy, you die." The members present in the van stared at him. Law specifically took note of the orange-haired woman which he knew from the reports as Nami the Cat burglar, Law could tell that she was terrifying more than anyone present at the moment.

Law narrowed his eyes, he opted to stay quiet, Luffy probably wouldn't like it he started a fight amongst the smaller raven's crew. Luffy leaned on his shoulders, still tightly hugging the book. He would find the perfect time to ask Luffy about his life. What dragged him to this extent. Law circled his arm around Luffy's hip and pulled him closer, enjoying the comfort as they were trapped inside a small tin can, possibly chased by his former colleagues.

Law's life would never be the same again. He could never undo anything beyond this point. He sealed his fate.

Fuck it all.

* * *

"I found them." A long-haired blonde woman said as she held a phone to her ear nodding as if she was talking to the person on the other end of the phone face to face. "Clearance for Goa under a false name. Verified. Proceed with the mission."

* * *

 **-guilty-**

See what I mean.. cheese overload :d.

Hope you guys like it though, from now expect more of LawLu fluff :3

It seemed rushed but heyyy, who doesn't want to see more of Law and Luffy.

Next Chapter would be the 'present'. I'll do my best to make it more interesting!

Please continue to read my fic! Thank you all!

 **-guilty-**


	9. The Explorer and The Domino Effect

Hey everyone! Guilty here, I hope this chapter redeems myself for the last 2 ones cause gosh.. were those cheesy.

I will not get tired of saying thank you to everyone who reads my fic! Love you all! Sexy Law will visit your dreams. *nods sagely*

sarge1130 Thank you for the detailed reviews! Guilty loves reading your quirky thoughts (WG Agent + Doctor = Sizzling Hot Law. I can relate ! hehe) . It brightens my day!

 **-guilty-**

 **The Explorer and The Domino Effect**

 **Present...**

'What is sleep?' Law had to remind himself that that was not a philosophical question.

Trafalgar Law had not slept for five days. He lifted his head and stared into mirror reflectively, turning matter over in his mind then he frowned. The dark under-eye circles made him look a tad way older than his twenty-six years. The lack of sleep caused him to re-evaluate his judgment five days ago. The idea of staying with 'his' Luffy clouded his sense of danger and neglected all other details like living with eight other people who wanted nothing but display his head on a silver platter for dating their leader.

Luffy had been telling him that his friends liked Law, that they thought Law was perfect for Luffy and he had their one hundred percent approval. "Approval, my ass," Law muttered. The moment he stepped foot on the plane where every member of the straw hats was waiting for their escape, the members that rode with him on the van suddenly changed demeanor, the welcoming feeling was replaced by stares that promised slow and painful death, well at least Roronoa Zoro was blunt from the start. The tension in the air could've caused a massive explosion that would wipe out the entire Raftel if Luffy didn't break the ice and started retelling how awesome he was during the mission.

Law had outwitted most of their advances though, which were all 'stealth kill tactics', he was an ex-agent of the World Government after all. Law suddenly felt like one of the guards in Creeds of Assassin - a game he used to play during his university years - that he used to kill for fun. Good old days, he thought, but who knew even video game character gave him bad karma. If Law had known, he would have left them alone to mind their own business.

Law couldn't help but give credit to the straw hats ways. First, there was a poisonous toad on his bed courtesy of a very dark woman, Nico Robin. Second was the mysterious 'flying swords' that would stick on the freaking concrete walls which no doubt came from Luffy's chef and his moss head boyfriend. Law would like to enumerate all of the assassination ploys but his brain would just explode trying to control his anger and tone down his urge to get revenge cause his Luffy wouldn't appreciate if his friends started randomly dropping dead one by one and the autopsy would reveal nothing but 'died out of 'natural causes'.

So no matter how much Luffy explained, Law was convinced that the straw hats hated every cell of his body, it was proven and tested. They were one big irrational family and equally disturbing in their own little ways waiting for Law to drop his guard down and show any sign of weakness. He had also come to the bitter realization that he would not be having any 'Luffy time' in the near future. How he would love to get his hands on him, and perhaps very soon too if the situation was not as shitty. Law thought he sounded like a goddamn old pervert...maybe he was.

Law sighed as he washed his face in the sink, grabbed the towel that hung on his bare shoulder wiping his face and finger-combed his hair. He strode to a walk-in closet and grabbed a grey hoodie and a pair of blue jeans which Luffy bought for him the moment they arrived in Goa. God was he lucky. He slipped into the clothing and headed to the dining hall. He cringed at the thought of dinner. The prospect of the straw hats all gathered in one room wasn't particularly exciting for Law. He had been saved from their attacks when he was around Luffy, but his little lover had been feeling upset due to the unforeseen bombing of their plane. The younger raven had been locking himself inside the straw hats library all alone, trying to decode the message of the book they stole from the Archives.

He arrived in the dining hall and all were present except for his lover. The tattooed man frowned, the sight of the table filled with luscious food seemed unappetizing no matter how talented their chef was without his bright and bubbly lover around. The crew seemed to have mellowed, usually even if Law was damn far away in another room, their killing intent would reach him, it looked like their worries took over the idea of killing their leader's boyfriend.

The tattooed man paused halfway thinking whether he should join the crew or try to check on Luffy now that he had the chance since the crew was all in the dining hall but as he aimed for the library, Nico Robin caught his presence and motioned for him to sit. Law couldn't really say no unless he wanted to argue with a pissed chef for not appreciating the lady's call for Law, he wasn't really in the mood for banter, so he did and sat on his designated chair which was beside Luffy's empty one.

Apparently, Luffy's crew tried coaxing the man with food which worked all the time before but it seemed like the younger raven's current feeling defied the laws of his own nature which left the straw hats in a predicament which in this case was an advantage for Law. The crew begrudgingly asked him to bring food to the young raven since Luffy haven't touched the food they placed outside of the library.

Now Law was standing in front of the library door with a tray full of meat, he knocked on the door but no one answered. He pried open the door expecting it to be locked but it softly clicked, he pushed the door only revealing a dark room lit with a single study lamp, casting dark shadows in the room. He sighed and made his way to the desk placing the tray he was holding with his hand as he saw the slumped figure resting on the desk. The younger raven's face was buried in piles of papers hands still holding the book.

It was weird to see his Luffy not beaming with energy, he leaned closer to the desk, observing the fluttering dark long lashes his lover had. He would never get tired of seeing his Luffy. Law's lips tugged into a smile, it was ridiculous how fast he had fallen for Luffy. Never in his life had Law felt so drawn to another human being, there were so many things they need to learn about each other but it could wait, both of them will slowly bare their souls to one another, they had all the time.

He softly ran his long fingers through the messy dark hair adorning his cute lover, the smaller male shifted in his slumber, murmuring something Law couldn't pick up. A whine bubbled on Luffy's lips as Law's fingers traced over his ear and that made him smile. Law heard a gentle rustle as he felt Luffy's body move and a mop of black raised as brown sleepy glimmering eyes reflected the light.

"Hey.. did I startle you?" Law asked softly still caressing Luffy's hair. Luffy rubbed his eyes, a small smile etched on his lips. "I brought you food.. you need to eat. Your crew's getting worried about you." Law added. Luffy stretched his arms and stifled a yawn, he reached out his hand, staring into Law's warm gray eyes and let his fingers brush against the dark circles under Law's eyes and frowned. "And you need to sleep," Luffy said with a raspy voice.

Law thought he should've brought water and let out a sigh. "I'd love to if only your friends would be kind enough to let me rest in peace."

"That sounds ominous, do they mean literally or figuratively?" Luffy quickly replied clearing his throat on the process. Law rolled his eyes, cheeky monkey. "It still could mean the same you know, figuratively because you don't really know if a person is resting in peace after they died."

Luffy chuckled and looked into those gray eyes once more, wanting to melt into them. He rubbed Law's goatee, he studied the perfect man in front of him and sighed in content. Law was magnificent, he was everything Luffy wanted and Luffy was so lucky to have him. Without saying a word, Luffy leaned forward and brushed his lips over Law's cheek and planted a sweet chaste kiss on older raven's mouth. Luffy quickly stood up and bounced off the chair heading to the platter of food placed at the edge of the desk.

Law stood frozen for a moment, mind blank and gently raised his hand to touch his lips. As he regained his composure, his heels turned and grabbed Luffy's wrist pulling him close wrapping an arm around him, his face buried on Luffy's bed-hair clad head and took a deep sniff, filling his nose with Luffy's scent, a scent that seemed to mix perfectly with his own. Luffy's heart fluttered as he sunk into Law's warmth, wrapping his own arms around the older man's hips.

"I didn't expect that," Law muttered as his face was still buried in Luffy's hair soaking in the scent of his lover.

Luffy giggled, nuzzling his nose against Law's grey hoodie, he'd appreciate it more if it was Law's muscular chest he was rubbing his face on but that could wait for later. "Well then Mr. Agent, expect the unexpected." Law suddenly cupped Luffy's face, gray eyes full of affection stared deeply into brown orbs, soft thumb glided over Luffy's lips as Law raised the younger man's chin, lifting it gently, slowly inching closer to Law's lips. A grunting, growling, sound coming from Luffy's belly echoed through the library loudly reminding him and Law that it was time to eat, stopping Law's attempt for a much deeper second kiss.

A subtle blush appeared on both men's cheeks as they started laughing. Both reluctantly let go of the hug and Luffy tugged the hem of Law's hoodie and looking up at him with his puppy dog eyes. "Will you feed me?"

Law raised an eyebrow. "You won't eat if I don't feed you, would you?"

"Shishishi, you're getting a hang of this Torao." The smaller raven replied walking towards the platter waiting gloriously to be devoured by this bottomless pit of a stomach. Law shook his head and followed Luffy, thinking he should probably find a way to not fall into Luffy's dangerous weapon - the puppy dog eyes.

As Luffy needed more food, the couple went to the dining hall only to find the place deserted. Sanji was cleaning the table while Zoro sat on a chair drinking a bottle of sake, his legs resting on the kitchen counter watching the cook gracefully picking up the dirty dishes. Their eyes dropped into the two form coming closer to the dining hall. They exchanged looks and both hummed in approval.

"He's not that bad huh?" Sanji asked Zoro, eyes still unto Luffy and Law who were engaged in a conversation, Luffy grinning while Law's lips started to form a small smile. Sanji thought it was creepy, the guy never really smiled at them. Well if Sanji was on Law's place, getting threats on daily basis he wouldn't either. "I guess so. If I see Luffy always smiling like that, I wouldn't mind." the green haired man replied drinking more of his sake.

Sanji kicked Zoro's leg that was blocking his path making the man spill a bit of his sake and cursing under his breath. Sanji placed the dishes on the counter and grabbed a towel and threw it at Zoro. The green haired man expertly caught the towel and started wiping the mess he made. "Guess we need to stop trying to kill him huh." Sanji blurted out as he pulled a cigarette from his suit's breast pocket leaning against the counter.

"Sanjiiii! Fooooodddd!" Luffy screamed dashing towards the empty table pulling a chair for him and Law as he arrived and plopped himself on the chair. He started slamming his palm on the table chanting food. Sanji sighed and went to the kitchen to get food for the duo.

The blond placed the food on the table. "Don't be so damn loud. You better be thankful I left food for you, you idiot." the unlit cigarette dangled on his lips as he spoke.

"Shishishi, you're the best Sanji!"

"Where's everyone?" Law had to ask halfway through biting his onigiri, he was better off knowing where they 'accidentally' placed traps this time. He'd rather not lose a limb living under the same roof with these lunatics. Getting a handicap (literally) would minimize his chances of survival.

Zoro snorted. "Don't worry agent, you're safe." Law snarled fully intended to be menacing at the green head. "Yeah? After you guys pulled all those shit, don't think I'd trust your words."

"Smart man," Sanji said nonchalantly, placing more food on Luffy's plate. "You picked a good one Luffy."

"Of course Sanji, I have good taste! Shishishi." Luffy said shoving more meat into his mouth, a normal person would be disgusted but Law just rolled his eyes at the display, he wasn't normal in the first place. What kind of person would date a criminal, right? He stared at the young raven and narrowed his eyes, he would like it if his boyfriend didn't take those attempts on his life as some sort of initiation. Law sighed. the things he does for love, he thought and continued eating.

Franky and Robin emerged from one of the rooms lined along the hallway and greeted the four of them, their stares lingered on the tattooed man making Law sigh. Robin stayed with the group while Franky headed to his workshop. Robin and Luffy started talking about the book and how to get the next clue, the duo seemed so immersed in their conversation that Law couldn't help but be breathless as Luffy said such intellectual things that even Law couldn't comprehend. In the corner of his eyes, he could see Sanji and Zoro snickering as they look at Law who was unconsciously gaping at Luffy's display of intelligence.

No one could blame Law though, the things the younger raven didn't really show any trace of intelligence, when they arrived from Raftel, Luffy dragged Law all over their base showing him the 'awesome' things Franky installed. Throughout the days when Law wasn't saving his ass from Luffy's crew, all the explorer did was cause chaos, explosion, explosion and more explosion inside the underground base before locking himself up in the library after the bombing incident two days ago. Law's reaction was totally understandable, he tried to defend himself inwardly and shot a glare at Sanji and Zoro.

Out of nowhere, the blaring sound of an alarm echoed in the base. Luffy realized what it was and made a low sound in the back of his throat, a growl directed to whoever dared stepped into their territory and bothered his meal, obviously the latter was more important. Zoro and Sanji started stretching as Luffy silently pushed himself off the chair stuffing one last meat on his already full mouth and gulping it in one go. Law eyed the black-haired woman sitting on the opposite side of the table smiling a Mona Lisa smile as if knowing what Law wanted to ask, the woman calmly explained the situation.

Law stared at the serious Luffy, his lover had shown him different sides of his personality, and seriously Law couldn't get enough of every side. He wanted to see more, he wanted to see all of it. And fuck Law and his brain, he was actually half-erect just looking at Luffy's expression.

From the hall, Brook, Chopper, and Nami appeared, each of them carrying a black suitcase and placed it on the table in the middle of the lounge. Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro promptly walked towards the newcomers and opened the suitcase. The trio took one gun each and prepared to head outside. Chopper dashed to the surveillance room coming back to the lounge with an earpiece, giving them to the trio.

Law opened his mouth to speak then closed it swiftly as Luffy put his lips against the top of his shapely lips and muttered softly "You stay here and watch Torao. I want you safe." Law was about to retort when he noticed a hand placed on his shoulder and saw the slackened jaws of the straw hats. Law groaned as his lover trod towards the door with Zoro and Sanji laughing and bouncing all the way out.

"You're trying to get me killed Luffy." he sighed as Robin, Brook, Chopper, and Nami dragged him to the surveillance room.

* * *

When Bepo woke up, he never expected to see a table full of mouth-watering food. As far as he could remember Sachi, Penguin and him were in the middle of infiltrating the straw hat's base to find their boss and then..then... he just blacked out. Bepo looked around, he saw concrete walls, thick transparent glass, and a metal door. This must be what heaven looked like he thought. He looked around once more and saw two bodies sleeping beside each other, drools running down their mouths.

Bepo tilted his head and facepalmed as he realized one thing. If Sachi and Penguin were there, then Bepo must be in hell, there was no way those two idiots would be allowed to even step a foot inside the gates of heaven. They'd be thrown to hell immediately the moment their souls appear for judgment or it was actually even possible for them to skip judgment and hurled straight right to hell. He even bet Satan himself would greet them, make the idiots his right and left-hand devils.

He began to panic, pacing back and forth in the full concrete room. There must be a misunderstanding for him to be in hell, right? If life had a reset button, now would be the perfect time to press it a million times, Bepo thought. He stared at the food in the middle of the room and carried himself slowly towards it, he started sniffing the food as if he was a dog checking out its probable mate and tasted each plate one by one, savoring the explosion of flavors in his mouth.

He pondered for a while, if this was hell, then Bepo would be glad to stay if the food was always this good. He started digging in and paused as he saw a teenager staring at him from the other side of the thick glass calmly sitting on a red couch looking at some sort of chart. Now that he thought about it, the other side of the glass had monitors and the room he was in had security cameras in every corner. He gulped down the last piece of meat he shoved in his mouth and cowered back to where Sachi and Penguin were sleeping. He shook their bodies hoping the idiots would wake up, he wasn't going to be a lab rat alone, he would let the idiots experience it too.

* * *

Chopper examined the 'prisoners' at the other side of the room, he sighed in relief as one of them was already digging in the food Sanji prepared, it seemed they didn't die from overdosage as Luffy suddenly became trigger happy the moment he found the intruders. He quickly scanned the chart which he prepared with the help of Luffy's scary boyfriend, he actually admired how much of a superb doctor the tattooed man was. Maybe he could learn something from him, the teen nodded at that. Chopper looked away from the chart and turned his head towards the door as it opened. He flinched as he saw the man he was thinking about as if his thoughts summoned him.

Law barged into the room with a clinging Luffy on his arm. The younger raven had been constantly apologizing for almost killing his subordinates. 'Who would've known they were your subordinates?' was what Luffy said as they entered the base with Zoro and Sanji, towing three unconscious limp bodies. Law swore he heard the crew screamed on the mic god knows how many times informing Luffy and the others who the intruders were but apparently, the urge to shoot someone was too high and the warning went straight in and out of Luffy's ear. The last image they saw was madness, a five foot six raven head grinning like a maniac the moment he saw three men lurking behind a huge tree.

Setting Bepo aside, Law wouldn't really mind getting rid of the other two idiots, he would shower his boyfriend with loving kisses for giving him a huge favor of committing manslaughter. He sighed as he asked the teenage doctor the status of his colleagues, unfortunately, Sachi and Penguin survived. Law clicked his tongue, he should've encouraged his boyfriend more if he knew this was the outcome. Law stared through the thick soundproof glass only to find three gaping mouths and three pairs of eyes locked into his pair of gray orbs with pure horror. He rolled his eyes, explaining everything would take so much time.

Sighing, he asked Chopper to unlock the metal door connecting the rooms. Luffy gladly entered the room with a huge smile on his face, scaring the poor souls out of Law's subordinates. "Sooo, you're Torao's friends? Tell me your names!" The explorer beamed circling the trio like a vulture. Before they lose conscious for the second time, Law stepped in and asked Luffy to step aside. The younger man frowned but smiled right away as he noticed the table full of food and ran to it, eating whatever was left from Bepo's free tasting session.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Law snapped.

"It should be us asking that question boss!" Sachi semi-screamed with a hint of yelp as he hid behind Bepo and Penguin who were still in utter shock to see their boss casually having skin to skin contact with 'the' Straw Hat Luffy.

Law sighed for the third time, he guessed he would be doing it more for the next few hours. Law was still trying to find the right words to explain the current situation when Luffy butt in. "Why wouldn't he be here? Torao's my boyfriend, of course, he should stay with me." Luffy nonchalantly said as he slipped into Law's arm, looking up at the older man with full adoration as if he was the sun to Luffy's world. Law bit his lips and tried to stop himself from gobbling up the cute devil beside him. He circled his arm around the explorer's hip and looked at this subordinates. It would be nice if they didn't look like the world was doomed.

Law sighed- again.. "What he said."

"WHAAAATTTTT?!"

* * *

After recovering from the sudden onset of cardiogenic shock, Bepo, Sachi, and Penguin were now surrounded by the straw hats peacefully sipping hot cocoa and coffee. A tray was placed before them but they were too scared to even move or speak, though they let their gaze linger on the public display of affection their boss was now having with the Straw Hat's leader and noticed how some members of the crew raised their eyebrows at the view. Bepo was surprised to see Sachi and Penguin so well-behaved even with the presence of two stunning ladies.

True they told the man to find a partner so he won't be an asshole anymore and that might have been a very bad advice since the nagging finally killed the man's brain cells, and the proof of it was right in front of their faces, their boss was dating a freaking criminal. They really couldn't do anything about it unless they wanna lose each and every one of their fingers slowly and painfully, two shoved up into their nostrils and the remaining eight in their throats.

"Guys, don't be shy! A friend of Torao is a friend of ours! Shishishi." Luffy casually said as he sat on Law's lap.

Nami crossed her legs and stared at the trio. "So.. how did you find this place? I made sure it was almost untraceable... Almost.." She looked at the albino man who had the obvious reaction. This caught Usopp's attention, grateful for the distraction from his best friend's actions. He recalled how Nami and Luffy scouted the place, picking the most difficult place to access. And they made sure no one would track them, not even the bastards who bombed their plane.

"We tracked boss' phone via gps," Penguin said finally gaining his composure. " The last transmission lead us here."

Usopp and Nami hummed that made sense. They were now thankful for Luffy's tech-destructing 'ability' as they recalled how exactly Law's phone exploded the moment Luffy touched it. Though one question still lingered in Usopp's mind.

"How come you didn't bring an entire brigade? I mean, I know the World Government wants to get their hands on Luffy and basically everyone on our team. So why only the three of you?" The straw hats were now intently staring at the trio, making them flinch on the spot.

"Hey guys, don't look at them like that, you're all scaring them." Luffy pouted sliding off Law's lap and sitting on the carpeted lounge, his signature straw hat dangling on his back.

Usopp rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath. "Everybody knows you're the scariest person here."

"Shhh Usopp, he can smell fear." Chopper whispered in Usopp's ears. Earning a squinted calculating look from Luffy. Chopper mouthed 'See, I told you.'

"About that" Penguin paused and looked at Law " Bartolomeo's under investigation for assisting Straw Hat Luffy escape the Head Quarters. They're keeping him locked up, trying to squeeze answers from him. So the three of us thought it would be wise to keep it a secret since we never know who worked for whom."

"Which lead us here, sitting in a very fancy longue almost singing kumbaya with the straw hats." Sachi butt in sounding bitter which earned a smack from Bepo. Luffy being Luffy and laughed while Law just rolled his eyes.

"Heyyy cheer up, at least you're all safe and technically our guests. Shishishi." Luffy stood up and the crew turned their heads quickly to their leader as the air of friendliness changed to hostility. "What happened to Barto again?" Law glanced at Luffy who now covered half of his face with his straw hat, how his lover changed his demeanor so quickly would always remain a mystery for the tattooed man, but this... this was new, something Law thought the younger man never had in him, the air of rage, hostility.. gone was the happy, bright man, only an image of a person broken through time stood lone in the middle of the room.

"Lu-luffy, dude. Chill okay?" Usopp said trying to calm down his bestfriend. Sanji immediately dashed to the kitchen taking out the special meat reserved for Luffy and put it on the table. Then again, a sudden change in the air happened as the young raven perked up as he saw the meat placed before him. Without a split second of hesitation, he dug in and the straw hats finally let their breaths out. Law cocked an eyebrow as he watched the scene unfold, he took note that he would ask the younger male if given the appropriate time.

After Luffy ate all of the meat, he plopped down on the carpet and leaned against Law's long legs. "I've got a plan." Usopp and Chopper's face paled, Sanji and Nami facepalmed, Zoro and Brook smirked, Franky and Robin, exchanged a knowing smile while the four agents narrowed their eyes with the crew's reaction.

"What is it this time?" Nami asked in with an exasperated tone. Obviously having enough bullshit to deal with.

"I'm gonna save Barto." Usopp groaned hearing what his best friend just said, saving meant doing something disastrous again in Luffy's vocabulary. "I'm the reason why he's in there in the first place, he dragged me away from Sengoku and helped me find the vent. He even stayed behind so me and Torao can escape. I will save him." Hearing their leader's words and hinting the tone of authority, the group just nodded.

"What exactly is your connection to Barto, Straw Hat Luffy?" Bepo asked which earned a praise from Law, he was gonna ask Luffy about that but he never got the chance.

"I met him when he was doing an undercover when I just started..err.. doing the thing I do." Luffy shrugged and waved his hand. "He was compromised and beaten badly, i was just randomly checking that certain cartel for information. I helped him and sent him to the hospital, after that i just heard that the cartel was taken into custody and we've never seen each other since..well until the party."

The four agents hummed. The reason Barto was alive in the first place was that of Straw Hat Luffy, no wonder the man did what he did, Bepo thought.

"So what's your plan?" Zoro asked which was probably a bad idea in Usopp's knowledge.

"Secret. Shishishishi." Usopp dramatically facepalmed. He fucking knew it.

"Oh please spare us the theatrics Luffy, we're basically gonna be a part of it so spit it out," Nami said as she rolled her eyes.

"I'm going alone." Luffy deadpanned and the crew collectively sighed and shook their heads.

"I thought you're supposed to be a genius Luffy! Think about it man, we're here as a team." Usopp pleaded even if he was scared shitless for whatever Luffy's plan was, he would never let him go alone, it was too risky.

"Wait.. he is?" Law asked innocently and the crew nodded.

"160 I.Q," Robin added somewhat proud of her leader.

"Yeah! He's a supppeeer genius!" Franky said in agreement.

"Yeah but not the smart kind." Usopp resigned and started plucking his hair one by one only to be swatted by Robin saying it wasn't healthy. "Staying with Luffy isn't healthy," he muttered. Usopp thought just how many times they had to encounter the same situation. He pondered, he spent almost all of his life with Luffy but he still doesn't know the answer, it was the same as finding the answers to the mysteries of the universe, one answer just leads to another question.

That detail for Law was super hot. He was somewhat hyped to get another information that was never written in Luffy's case file. The more he knew the more he was falling into the bottomless pit of his admiration towards Luffy. Law was goddamn whipped. Big time.

Sanji sighed. "Let me make this clear, your plan is to go alone. And you expect us to stay here?"

"Exactly. You're so smart Sanji! Shishishi." The group groaned. If one word could describe Luffy that would be 'stubborn'... Luffy was a stubborn little shit that the crew had to handle. (Bless their soul for sticking up with the man)

"You're being an idiot, Luffy," Usopp added as if it would change Luffy's mind if he was insulted.

"When was he not actually?" Nami looked at Usopp like he ate a bug which ate his brain.

"Shishishi. Don't worry, I'm gonna be fine." Law had to interfere he wouldn't want his Luffy to get hurt. "I'm coming with you."

Zoro snorted. "Good luck with that prince charming."

* * *

 **-guilty-**

I hope you guys loved the little LawLu moments. There will be moreeeee! (for sure)

sarge1130 about your question..yep Doffy will appear soon hehe. I love his character in One Piece (so far, best villain for me). Though he might be OOC in this fic. I have this weird fetish..making Doffy somewhat nice...er..nicer.

Again, Thank you for the views! Please continue supporting my fic!

 **-guilty-**

Just a random note. While writing this fic I was staying in my sister's place, there was a huge ass cockroach and..it freaking flew! Me and my partner had to run around screaming. Cause really, what could be scarier than a flying cockroach? My partner, being the asshole that he is, hid behind me and said don't run it can smell fear. Ain't he a peach? Though thanks to him I had a good line for Chopper. hehe.

All right, sorry for blabbering!

Till next time guys!

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	10. The Universe Abides The Explorer's Will

Here's another chapter guys! Enjoy!

Please continue reading!

Reviews are much appreciated ❤❤❤

 **-guilty-**

 **The Explorer May Bend Nature's Will But Not His Family's**

Monkey D. Luffy had a plan. And it was a damn good plan.

But his crew thought otherwise and thought he had lost his mind. Oh, how Luffy wanted to be cheeky and tell them to find an original thing to say cause seriously even Luffy knew he was crazy and reckless. It was not news for him, he even broke out laughing at himself for all the stupid things he had done. But all of it was not for naught, slowly and deliberately over the years he had an aim at a long running-objective and he would use every means to get it while keeping his friends safe.

Luffy's mind was dead set and there was nothing that was going to change it. Not his friends, not his lover, no one. Luffy sighed, even Torao joined the crew's persistent pleas. Now Luffy's lover was put off by how Luffy rebuffed him. He felt horrible, awful but he knew it was the right thing to do. His desire to protect them was greater than any of their convincing.

It became awkward after that, Luffy had to avoid Torao so he could stop his advances. He hoped their relationship had not been prematurely torn apart by Luffy's decision. Luffy groaned inwardly, he hoped his Torao won't be mad anymore when Luffy gets back to him. If Luffy ever gets back...

Luffy had to keep them safe. There was no other choice. Luffy was willing to violate every rule of nature, break any law for the people in his life. His principle was to keep his loved ones safe without care for his own life. Never again would he lose anyone. Never.

Ghosts of his past would not stop until they get what they want which greatly involved Luffy bathing in his own pool of blood. The bombing of their plane thrown him off showing rather explicit tidbits of unwanted memories, he realized how vulnerable and exposed his friends were to the danger that was aimed at him. And to add Barto's sacrifice, it didn't sit well on the explorer's tongue. He was supposed to be the one who protects them.

That took him here, sitting on the sidewalk in front of the big, white, only-Sengoku-knows-how-many-storey building. The compound was surrounded by a white wrought iron fence on every side with woven electrical wire fence on the top. The grand white building was set back quite a distance from the sidewalk. Its ever dominant fencing stood proudly with the bold letters that spelled "JUSTICE". Luffy thought the bold letters plus all capital was too much like okay you guys love justice no need to rub it all over the place.

The familiar sight of the building made Luffy grin.

The explorer knew it was risky, his friends and lover had the right to feel frustrated over Luffy's decision but he told himself, why wait for the last grain of sand to fall in the hourglass when he had the perfect way to stop the sands from falling?

Circumstances weren't in favor of the explorer but he was hellbent on changing that.

Striding like the goddamn badass that he was, Luffy crossed the road with his old straw hat covering half of his face, red vest hung open fluttering against the wind exposing his lean chest. Calmly, he set his foot inside the building passing casually through the gate and entered through the automatic glass doors pacing forward to the glass protected booth in the middle of the lobby as his wooden sandal clacked on the tiled room. He cleared his throat to get the attention of the woman inside the booth.

"Excuse me, I'm here to see Sengoku."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"Nope. Shishishi. Tell him its Monkey D. Luffy." Luffy said as he removed the straw hat that was obstructing his face to give the woman a clear view. She stared wide-eyed at him in dumbfounded wonder, her fingers hovering over the red button of doom a.k.a emergency button. Luffy grinned from ear to ear and motioned the woman to press the button.

He shifted on his feet impatiently wondering how long the agent would actually do her job. It ruined his dramatic entrance. He was hoping for more action. Luffy thought if she didn't do anything for the next minute, he would rain down destruction on them in a way they have never seen. Maybe a mention of a certain goat would get him the attention that he badly needed at the moment. That could work, he mused.

Sighing loudly the explorer leaned into the booth. "Forgive my impatience but isn't this the part where you are supposed to arrest me?" He rolled his eyes as he saw the agent's slackened jaw, he didn't know if it was from astonishment or fear. Really? Just press the goddamn alarm, he thought. Her gawking didn't really save Luffy's time, he had places to be. He didn't want to miss snack time with the crew nor add more time between his and Torao's little squabble.

As if on cue, the alarms in the World Government Head Quarters started blaring out and the woman on the booth announced something about Luffy. The agents loitering around stopped and faced the explorer by profession but criminal in the World Government's eyes.

"Finally." Luffy groaned standing in the middle of the lobby dissatisfied with the delayed welcome he received. He stood there waiting for the agents to come and pull him and throw him inside a prison cell or containment room like a lab specimen. If it was the latter, good luck to them figuring out the logical reasons behind all the stupid things Luffy had done cause damn well he made sure it was not going to be easy.

The agents had gathered around him, guns drawn and had them aggressively aimed at Luffy. A loud roar coming from an opening elevator made Luffy flinch. He slowly and cautiously turned around, he stared at the metal box. Terrified. Luffy frantically looked around for an escape route. He cursed under his breath, he totally forgot one important painful, trauma-inducing detail. Monkey D. Freaking Garp. "Well, shit.."

"Drop down your guns you, idiots! That's my grandson right there!" the old man bellowed, the agents lowered their guns posthaste, Luffy stared in awe at how fast they hid their weapon. Now if only they arrested him as fast as that too, that would be good rather than idling around without knowing a wanted person already slipped inside the HQ. Because of them, Luffy was now torn between dashing for life sake or facing the storm ahead.

Th old man's gait exudes hundred years of pain as he stared at the raven head fidgetting like a kid caught stealing candies. The kid he kept for years now looked like a replica of his mother and none coming from Garp's son. Garp thought the only reason why the kid was so accomplished with his line of work (which Garp strongly disagree with) was that of the childlike face vibrating with innocence no one would think the brat was a criminal. Though Garp knew, the innocence was long gone.

He strode towards his grandson and stomped. But of course, the brat had to dash and find the least guarded route for an escape. Garp laughed, the damned kid had the guts to run away from him. Garp charged forward chasing the raven-haired brat who stumbled upon agents after agents, shoving them out of his way.

"Stop chasing me! I did nothing wrong! I'm innocent until proven guilty!" Luffy screamed desperately, catching his breath as he jumped over a pile of chairs only to stop halfway seeing agents block the path ahead. He turned around and saw his grandfather raging like a bull on an acid trip. Luffy pushed the chairs, knocking them down and breaking them into pieces in the process building them back would make IKEA proud.

"Stupid brat! How dare you say that while you're running away from me! That's enough proof that you're guilty!" Garp barked as he maneuvered through the broken pieces of chairs.

"It's because you are chasing me, stupid grandpa!" Luffy retorted looking around, sweat streaming down his cheeks as he clenched on the hem of his vest unconsciously wringing it. He could see the cringing agents as a shadow loomed above him.

"Who taught you to talk back to your grandpa?!" was the last thing Luffy heard to prepare himself from the upcoming onslaught as a punch fell on his head that would surely leave a huge bump for an agonizingly long time. 'Fist of Love' that was what his grandpa called them, Luffy believed it was borderline child abuse, guess his grandpa was a firm believer of loving someone to death cause that did explain things that happened when Luffy was still a young'un.

Garp grabbed his grandson's collar and the kid just slipped out of them leaving him clutching on an empty red vest as the brat crawled sneakily away from him. He was about to give him more tender-loving fists when a sound of a goat echoed in the lobby.

Sengoku, at the very moment, felt the burden on his shoulders become heavier by the second. After all, the image right in front of him was a disaster. No. It was hell on earth. The lobby was a mess, the excruciating process personally redecorating the lobby was all for naught. He glared at the demon's brat on all fours half naked and his bastard of a grandpa casually holding his red vest. He knew exactly what went down, it was Armageddon.

Sengoku sighed the heaviest he could muster in all of his years on earth as he ordered four agents to haul the brat into an interrogation room. The brat seemed to have perked up seeing him so he squinted his eyes in a threatening manner and asked his most loyal agent to keep his goat hidden somewhere.. _somewhere very very safe_.

* * *

Sitting on a table in HQ's interrogation room, swinging his legs lazily, Luffy's growling stomach reminded him that he missed their mid noon snack and clicked his tongue. If they think they could shake him up for making him hungry, they were.. were wrong. Somewhere along that line, Luffy felt himself falter to the temptations of food. He snapped his head towards the door when it opened and jumped down the table, setting himself on the chair just behind it, legs crossed.

"Does this thing usually last this long? Cause if its common then no wonder no one wants to be caught. Staying here is so boring. I want food!" Luffy ranted staring at the two older men taking a seat on the opposite side with a frown on his face.

"You've been here for five minutes brat!" Sengoku could feel a migraine coming up.

"Five minutes of pure torture," Luffy muttered. He tapped his fingers on the table. Sengoku opened a folder and started stating the things he did three years until now with some nagging in the middle of everything. Luffy exaggeratedly yawned stretching his arms and started picking his nose, flicking the booger he hooked into the old men in front of him as Sengoku looked at him with disgust.

"You've really done some dumb things, Luffy." Garp sighed. "But this right here" Garp pointing between him and Luffy" is not one of them. So, tell us, what do you want?"

"Shishishi, I'm starting to think you're an awesome man stupid grandpa!" Luffy nodded appreciating the man's deep understanding of the current situation. Luffy was crazy, batshit crazy that borders clinical insanity but this was planned out. Well, more or less. "I'm here to negotiate." He flashed a grin at the old men.

"What?! That's preposterous!" Sengoku cried out indignantly, glaring at the ridiculous brat in front of him.

"Shishishi, old man, we all know you guys need me." Lithe fingers tapped continuously on the table. "In exchange for my...let's say.."Luffy tilted his head moving his hand on his chin. "services." Sengoku cocked an eyebrow. "I only have three demands, if you ask me, I'd grab that opportunity right away. I'm being very generous and if I get some meat in here, probably I'd only make it two."

"What makes you think we'd agree? You're a criminal." Garp asked studying his grandson.

"Shishishi, grandpa, I know a lot of things. I'm giving you a chance to catch someone. Does Cipher Pol ring a bell?" Luffy placed his elbows on the table resting his head on his hands.

"Everyone knows Cipher Pol," Sengoku stated matter-of-the-fact-ly.

"And here I am getting the impression that I'm more unforgettable rather than the Cipher Pol yet the World Government and the entire world knew of them more than me. I feel sad. "He frowned then let out a chuckle."You see, Rob Lucci is not their leader." Sengoku and Garp furrowed their eyebrows. Luffy grinned internally, that was the reaction he wanted. The bait was set.

"I know every single one of them. I know of their stupid 'leader'." Luffy rolled his eyes, god he hated that man. "I'm trying to help you here, I love the World Government after all. Shishishi." Sengoku gritted his teeth. "It's simple really, listen to me and have access to information you don't know existed or I get out of here and you guys try to find me, which we all know, never really ended well right?"

The older men seemed to think for a moment. Sengoku scowled. "Why should we believe you? For all, we know you're using the World Government for something big."

"Oh. Please, we're both using each other. You give me what I want, I give you the information you needed. I see it as a win-win. We both get rid of an evil organization, world peace yay World Government and I get a safe pass to what I aim." Luffy gave the men his persuasive smile.

Garp scoffed. The brat was getting cheeky. "We'd take a leverage, right now." Luffy sighing to himself, his glanced remained fixed on his grandfather and he nodded. "Where is the book you stole? Where's Trafalgar Law?"

"Shishishi, that's too easy." Sengoku was baffled as to why Garp had to waste their leverage for something so trivial. He understood asking for the book but for Trafalgar, it seemed too simple. He ran the past events through his head and remembered Doflamingo Donquixote, a very obnoxious man, the estranged father of Trafalgar. He groaned, why were brats giving him a headache. He felt like a walking day care center.

"He's with me and so is the book." Luffy blushed, he averted his gaze to Sengoku away from his grandfather's scrutinizing eyes. God knows what he'd do to Torao, he thought. "He's unharmed along with his three subordinates and I still need the book, I'll give it back once I'm done. Now, do we have a deal?" There was silence in the room as the two old men hunched in their chairs, staring directly at Luffy, studying his every move like he was some sort of alien.

"Don't deliberate more, I'm starving. Seriously." Luffy frowned. Can these old men just eat the bait? His stomach was protesting already. "And don't think I'll add another info regarding whatever matter. If my demands aren't met, my lips are sealed." Garp looked at Sengoku, the Head of the World Government nodded to Garp. Coming to an understanding, they asked for Luffy's demands.

Luffy's face got serious and he looked straight to both men. "I expect the World Government to keep their side of the bargain. You have your leverage plus more information and I get the following. First, my crew gets immunity. All their criminal records are to be erased in every database you have. I want your best combat agents watching over them." Sengoku's eyes widened. "Wha-" Garp raised his hand and Sengoku glared at him. Luffy appreciatively nodded at his grandfather. "And don't worry, I'm still a criminal. I only want their records cleared and live as free men. You can catch me after we work together. If you can, of course." Luffy grinned.

"Second, Bartolomeo gets out of custody. He shall remain an agent of the World Government. He's an excellent agent, he worked his ass for the World Government. He does not deserve the treatment he had been getting. Though I won't judge him, if he leaves the WG right after that bastard Akainu is done with him. I'll be glad to take him in if it reaches that point."

"Third and last. I get to work with Trafalgar D. Water Law and his subordinates. I know you marked them AWOL, they get to keep their positions and we'll be using their... I mean, your facility as our base. See? All odds are in your favor, you get your best agents back, you keep track of me and my movements, you get information on Cipher Pol."

Luffy stood up. "Shishishi. Alright, I guess everything's clear?" Sengoku sighed and nodded. "Great! Now, how about we eat something? I'm starvvviiinnngg!" Luffy whined and suddenly beamed towards the WG Head. "Sengoku, old man, where's your goat?" Seeing the man's paling face Luffy couldn't help but flash an evil grin as his grandfather clutched his stomach from laughing.

Sengoku could feel his hair shedding as he decided that today was worse than any Monday.

* * *

Usopp's eyes strayed away from his laptop and scrunched his face as he scrutinized the tattooed man that his best friend calls Torao. The man had been muttering unintelligibly for a while now since they arrived in Luffy's old ancestral house, anxiously pacing back and forth, glancing at the wooden pair of door which had been blocking his view to whoever would pop out from behind while everybody else in the crew and the three additional agents explored the premises of Luffy's inherited land.

Though everyone seemed to be enjoying the mansion with bright smiles on their faces (well, except for the person Usopp was staring at right now), Usopp knew they were all worried sick for their leader. It had been three hours since the man left and there was still no news. Usopp hacked through the security cameras in the World Government but it seemed wherever Luffy was, cameras weren't installed. The only thing the long-nosed man hoped was that his best friend was out of harm's way.

Usopp cleared his throat and the man turned his head quickly sharp gray eyes staring at him. Fuck, the man was fucking scary. What does Luffy see in him? Usopp thought love was truly freaking blind or Cupid did one freaking lousy job making Luffy and this..this guy with tattoos, piercings, eyebags the size of the sun get together. Hell, he looked more like a criminal than Luffy. His brighter than the sun, fresh as the air, innocent as a newborn baby (okay Usopp exaggerated, it is his best friend. If he was going to compare both men, why not make Luffy look like an angel, right?) clinically insane bestfriend... Oh, wait. There was his answer.

Usopp sighed and acted tough. "M-man, can you stop whatever you're doing? I-i mean, I know you're worried about _your boyfriend_ " Usopp could see the guy giving him a challenging stare which settled into a cold gaze, he shouldn't have put emphasis on that part, someone was touchy. "I mean, w-we're all worried about Luffy. But doing that doesn't really help. W-Why don't you..you know.. sit down?" Usopp shrugged and prayed that his thoughts reached the man's conscience and not flay him on the spot then sprinkle him with pepper and salt and sun-dried for best meat result. He shivered as his own thoughts, it was not the good time to impersonate Robin, everytime was always not a good time...

"T-there's food on the table, some coffee could help. R-right?" Usopp couldn't resist adding, attempting to be gracious yet asking himself why the hell was he asking the man to share his food. Then he recalled, Luffy did say that a way to a man's heart was through his stomach. Not that he was wooing the scary man, he just doesn't wanna fucking die at twenty-two... Thank you!

Law sat down a few inches away from Usopp, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He glanced into the long-nosed guy's laptop, he could see the World Government security footage. He really shouldn't be bothered by that, he was out of the WG. He remembered his encounter with Luffy the moment he knew what the man was exactly planning. His disappointment sky-rocketed when his little lover ignored him much of the time. Okay, he might have been a little overprotective but wasn't that normal? They were lovers, right? Weren't they supposed to protect each other? Not that Luffy needed protecting but still.

The tattooed man groaned closing his eyes and shrunk into the back of the couch that was still covered in white cloth. He had no idea what to freaking do. Then he swiftly swung his head to the side facing Luffy's best friend. Law looked at the sky..err. ceiling.. like he was blessed by the gods and goddesses personally. Law shifted his position, now fully facing the man, his elbows rested on his knees and cleared his throat getting the attention of his and Luffy's relationship's only salvation. He thought he was exaggerating but better safe than sorry.

Usopp stiffened on his seat wondering what the hell the man beside him was thinking. He noted one thing if the guy was scary while having deep thoughts of god knows what, he was hundred times creepier when he looked like he had an epiphany. Usopp inched away slowly, as slowly and as sneaky as he could. "Do you think Luffy's mad at me?" Usopp suddenly heard a husky voice and tilted his head looking at the man with a big question mark on his face.

Law cleared his throat again averting his eyes from Luffy's best friend and staring at some biscuits the chef baked laying in the middle of the table. He cursed himself, this was not like him to get flustered over asking a goddamn question. He blamed Luffy for it. Luffy and his _weird weird_ powers that changed Law. And fuck him, he _loved_ it. "Do you think Luffy's mad at me?" He asked again. "He..he avoided me earlier, even during the flight he didn't sit beside me. And when we arrived here, he left right away without saying goodbye." He thought he spoke too fast and the man didn't get what he meant cause he was gaping like a fish out of water.

"A-are you r-really asking me?" Usopp stuttered. What the fuck was happening?

"Uh? Yes? No one else is here. You're his best friend, you should know right?" The tattooed man replied quickly. 'Ohhhh, so that's why Usopp thought. Usopp sighed, why does he feel bad for the man? Is it because finally, someone shares his sentiment towards Luffy?

"Dude... let me tell you something.. I've known him for sixteen long years and all I could say is, Luffy's unpredictable. Hell, even scientist would be in a pinch trying to understand him. But don't worry, whatever happened between you two, he was not mad. _You don't want to see him mad. PERIOD._ He probably had some weird shit going on his mind. He's always like that, you should try to talk to him about it." The tattooed man hummed taking in every word Usopp said.

Usopp studied the moment, it seemed it was the right time to let the man have a piece of his mind. "To be honest, I didn't like you. Y-you're scary and seriously you and Luffy are polar opposite that I can't really see a good future for both of you" he paused "but..but seeing you get overly concerned for him after two weeks or so of being together, probably you're not that bad. I should just warn you, don't ever hurt him. I'm a coward but I'd do anything for my best friend... I have my ways to ruin your life if the time comes that I see him crying because of you." Usopp straightforwardly said, tapping his laptop. The tattooed man seemed to process what just happened and nodded leaving Usopp behind.

* * *

Law headed to the room Luffy assigned them to, the place was big enough to house the entire crew plus him and his subordinates. Each one got their own room and damn he hoped Luffy would stay in one room with him. He unlocked the intricately carved wooden door, taking in every detail of the mansion and considering, well yes, the place was a goddamn mansion, Luffy came from a well-off family. That's something they have in common, at least.

He entered the room, the bed and other types of furniture were still covered with white sheets along with mostly whatever else was inside the house. He pulled the covers and saw a portrait of a family. He studied the portrait that hung on the wall. He saw a younger version of Luffy, without the scar under his eye, a dark-haired woman, a strict looking man and a boy which was a bit older than Luffy with freckles on his cheeks, Law assumed it was Luffy's family. The resemblance between his explorer and the woman was quite noticeable.

Law sat on the edge of the bed, he felt sticky, stinking and wanting nothing more than to take a warm shower and probably some fresh cup of coffee while waiting for Luffy. He took off his pants, white shirt and boxers, folded them neatly and put them on the bed. Law grabbed a towel from his bag and groaned at the few clothing he had inside the bag. He took note that he would go to his apartment to grab some clothes while they were still in Raftel. He entered the expansive bathroom at the corner of the room, he might as well take the time to think of what to tell Luffy when he gets home.

* * *

The shrubbery swayed in as a breeze passed by, Robin frowned seeing the current state of Luffy's garden. It was such a waste to keep the place untended, she started pulling out weeds one by one. Franky helped his woman and they were starting to sweat due to the current weather when a convoy of ten cars, mostly custom-built SUV's with huge World Government symbol on its hood stopped in front of the mansion's gates.

Several men wearing suits stepped out of the vehicle, a certain red had left its mark, floating visibly standing out in the hues of black and white. Robin squinted her eyes, trying to see through the orange ray of the setting sun. Three men escorted the familiar straw-hatted man into the mansion. She looked to her left and saw her blue-haired lover gaping at the cars, he looked at her alarmed probably endless possibilities streamed through the man's head, World Government was bad news but she shook her head. She smiled knowingly, making the man at ease, it seemed Luffy's plan worked quite well.

The crew was gathered in the very luxurious family room, the white covers were now gone. Luffy grinned at them, his eyes hovering at every face and frowned. Robin chuckled, seemed like their leader became very attached to the new addition to their family. The crew finally accepted the man's role in their lives after a couple of failed assassinations, they knew he could keep Luffy safe whenever circumstances require.

Robin sat down at a single cushioned chair that Franky offered, she smiled lovingly at Franky, thanking the man with a soft peck on his cheeks. "Luffy, I supposed all went well?"

"Hell yeah! I told you guys it would. Shishishi." Luffy beamed happily grabbing a biscuit from the table.

"So how did it go?" Sanji asked the idiot got them worried. He didn't imagine a day would come that they would all be anxious that Luffy was not around destroying everything he could get his hands on.

"Damn, I'm surprised they said yes and didn't just haul your skinny ass to the dungeon or some shit like that," Zoro added gaining a nod from Chopper and Brook.

"Shishishi. They can try Zoro." Luffy grinned and Zoro smirked.

"What's that Luffy?" Nami pointed at a folder Luffy was holding. Luffy gave the folder to Nami, guess it was better letting them read it than for Luffy to say what was written. The group hovered around Nami, their eyes widened everytime Nami flipped a page. After reading every page, they stared at Luffy in awe and confusion.

"Why?" Usopp said sounding monotonous and looking dejected.

Luffy sighed, staring at his crew, he knew what they were thinking. "It's for the best." Zoro slammed his hand on the table making poor Chopper flinch. "Like hell, it's for the best, we're in this together Luffy... You.. you can't just do that, ditching us like that!"

"I'm not dit-"

"Luffy, we know you think you're endangering us. You're worried but we also feel the same. Like Zoro said, we will stick with you no matter what you do. We're a family." Robin firmly said.

"In a dysfunctional kind of way...you know since there's like two couples in it." Usopp absentmindedly muttered earning a glare from the crew.

Brook stared at the young raven head. "Having a clean record won't change anything, Luffy."

"But-"

"No buts Luffy, you know damn well we will never agree with this. HA! that's why you wanted to go alone in the first place. Well, fuck that, you have no say in this. This right here is our decision." Nami ripped the papers inside the folder one by one as Luffy's brown eyes started to pool.

"You're not alone, Luffy. We're here." Chopper said shyly.

"Now, this calls for a suppppeeerrr group hug right?" Luffy bit his lip swallowing a sob and wiping his tears, but they continued to fall as the group gathered and huddled into a hug. After everything that happened to Luffy, he was still fortunate to find such amazing and incredible people that became his new family, supporting each other unconditionally. Luffy knew he was home.

"T-thank you." Luffy softly muttered through the tears.

After an exchange of sobs from the crew, (Sanji, Zoro excluding cause they think they were too cool to cry) Usopp suddenly remembered something. He sniffed. "Oi, Luffy, I think you need to talk to some guy with a tattoo too." The crew started whistling. Luffy rolled his eyes. "Really, now? Since when did you guys become Torao's fan club?" He asked and blew his clogged nosed into Usopp's shirt.

"What the hell man! That's disgusting! This..this is the new Crimin shirt Kaya freaking bought Luffy!" Usopp howled removing the snot covered shirt, holding it with the tip of his fingers. Luffy started rolling on the floor laughing his ass out while half of the crew felt sorry for Usopp and half laughed along with Luffy. 'What a great family indeed, Usopp thought mockingly. "What a fucking terrible day," he muttered.

Franky patted his back. "Don't worry Usopp, just because today is a terrible day doesn't mean tomorrow will be better."

"Ha? I'm hella sure that's wrong Franky." Usopp facepalmed.

"Not when you're with Luffy. Yohoho."

Zoro snorted and kicked Luffy softly, urging the man to go meet his prince charming. Luffy wiped the tears coming out of his eyes from laughing. Half-heartedly apologizing to Usopp as he walked away from the crew and headed to find his Torao.

* * *

Luffy bounced through the hallway and ended up in the room he let Torao use. Knocking and not getting an answer, the younger raven frowned, it seemed like Torao was really mad at him. He gently pushed the door and it easily swung open. Luffy moved into the bedroom, his eyes settled on the clothes neatly folded on top of the bed then to the portrait hung on the wall. Luffy fell into silence, looking at the image of his family. He clutched his chest, his thoughts ran back to his crew and smiled softly.

"Mom..dad... Ace, I'm home. I brought my friends, they're noisy and crazy just like me but they're family." he said as his gaze focused on the smiling faces.

Law stood frozen in the bathroom's doorway as he saw Luffy talk to the portrait with the meekest voice he had ever heard from the guy. That spoke a lot, Luffy was always..always loud. "Luffy?"

Hearing his Torao's voice, he quickly turned. He bit his lips with the oh-so out of this world image. Goddamn Torao, he thought. It looked liked the man had just stepped out of the shower and was now standing in the room his hair wet and a towel tied low on his defined hips. He wasn't wearing anything else and Luffy internally screamed as he saw the black ink that seductively adorned Torao's sublime body. . Luffy knew he felt brave during their chaste kiss but this..this was way off the charts.

"Hi, T-Torao." he started stuttering. Luffy wanted to grab Usopp's camera and take a pic in every angle of Torao's hot sizzling body.

"Hey" Law smiled. "You okay?" Luffy immediately nodded.

Torao started taking long strides moving towards him, Luffy cursed as he realized he had an erection. Who wouldn't? The unholy combination of Torao's long toned legs and that piece of sinful towel combined with a mischievous glint in those gray eyes made him dangerously sexy. Luffy's mouth went dry as he watched a drop of water slide from his collarbone to his chest, down his six-pack and then disappeared behind the knotted towel. He let his gaze linger on him, enjoying the way Torao's chest moved as he breathes.

"I-i wanna say sorry" both of them simultaneously spoke. Luffy giggled and motioned his lover to speak first.

"Uh. Yeah. I'm sorry for treating you like a weak person. I know you aren't, I was just worried. You're important... _very_ important to me. I was sure you'd pull it off but every aspect of your plan was all for other people, for your friends, me. Nothing for your own. You're important to them too, Luffy. You should at least give your self impo-" Luffy raised his hand and Law stopped talking, he bit his lip hoping he didn't offend the man even more.

Luffy conceded with a small nod of understanding, he looked down to his feet and looked up at the man in front of him and sighed. "I know.. You were right Torao. You know what they did?... They ripped off the thing I went to get like it was nothing when in fact it was there freedom right there..." he chuckled softly " And they tell me I'm the stubborn one." He smiled.

"I'm sorry for avoiding you. I didn't mean to. You were so close to convincing me not to go so I had no other choice. I hope you're not mad at me or something..."

"Of course not, I was the one at fault. So I'm sorry too."

Torao was now a foot away from Luffy and he could smell the guy's musky cologne. Luffy gulped, he hoped he could excuse himself to take care of something.. something... He couldn't take his eyes away from Torao and shit, the smirk playing on the ex-agent's face didn't help settle Luffy's 'feelings' down south. He covered his mouth so his soul wouldn't fly off to heaven cause damn one million mini-Luffy's were screaming in his brain calling dibs on every sexy hot part his lover had.

Law hummed as he saw the younger raven gape at him. He gave a delighted grin as Luffy tried to avert his eyes to the clothes on the bed. A feeling of excitement trickled through him seeing the blush that played on Luffy's soft cheeks and he found his desire surfacing but he dared suppress the urge to grab the adorable guy to the bed and get on top of him and experience first hand how Luffy would look like writhing underneath him. The open red vest didn't help, it was goddamn inviting as it slowly slipped off Luffy's smooth shoulder, slightly revealing one firm pink nipple. Law quickly fixed the vest, his hands trembling.

"T-torao?" Law directed his gaze at Luffy's face and saw his lover looking up at him with such an innocent look but the blush remained on his cheeks, his lower lip protruded slightly, giving him a cute, innocently sexy pout that made Law's brain go haywire. How could this guy easily drive Law insane without putting any effort, he was so tempting Law threw all restrictions. Whatever, they both _needed_ to feel each other and Law was not going to deny himself from the crowned prize standing in front of him.

Law hands reached out to Luffy's chin, he leaned down, pressing his lips against Luffy's gently. Luffy's lips were warm against his. Law's tongue licked them, making the smaller man gasp, parting his lips. Law eagerly yet gently slipped in his tongue probing Luffy's delicious mouth, the tattooed man circle his hand around Luffy's neck, firmly holding it not letting Luffy pull away as Law deepened their kiss exploring every inch of Luffy's mouth, leaving an arousing burn as Luffy's tongue danced against his.

Law's fingertips slipped under the red fabric grazing Luffy's nipple, Luffy emitted a soft moan on the contact of their bodies and his hand slid over Law's well-defined muscles. Law hastily removed the obstructing vest leaving it on the floor, he scooped him into his strong arms and carried him towards the bed, both breathing heavily as desire and lust coursed through their bodies, Luffy snuggled on Law's chest and they looked at each other with adoration and...love..as Law gently placed Luffy on the bed.

Taking in the beautiful view below him, Law circled his tattooed finger on Luffy's nipples. A warm glow spread through Luffy's chest as he admired the lean hard physique clad in dark ink marvelously hover over him. He could feel Torao's half-lidded gray eyes linger in every inch of his bare skin. A shiver of anticipation ran down Luffy's spine, he arched his back as Torao kissed his way slowly down his body, his tongue and lips sending him spinning out of control. The sound of Luffy's voice softly repeating his name excited Law beyond reason.

Out of nowhere, a loud crash startled the duo making them both sit up automatically. Luffy paled, he knew what was coming as the wall in the bedroom crumbled and a figure appeared through the rubble and dust. Instinctively, Luffy hid behind almost naked lover single-handedly letting the man experience the wrath of Monkey D. Garp's seething with anger.

 **"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO MY GRANDSON, TRAFALGAR!?"**

The crew turned their heads where the sound came from and silently went to their rooms avoiding the brewing storm.

* * *

 **-guilty-**

See you all in the next chapter! ❤❤❤

Ain't it always fun when Garp's around? hehe

 **-guilty-**


	11. Start Of Trafalgar's Migraines

**The Start of Trafalgar's Migraines**

By the time Law jolted up from his slumber, the sun's blasting rays were already scattered in the room subdued behind the heavy window curtains. He blinked at the ceiling groggily, adjusting his vision from the blasted Mr. Sun. The doctor-agent looked left to right, up and down, studying the room. The dream he had before he awoken was the most terrible blood-curdling nightmare that left him mentally scarred and the unfamiliar room didn't give him comfort.

The dream had left him profusely sweating as if he was in a sauna. Hoping to get relief from the sticky beads of sweat on his forehead, he lifted his wrist to use the hem of his hoodie... Law tilted his head, he slowly patted his body only to feel his bare skin. Taking in his current situation, he haltingly lifted the blanket that covered the lower half of his body and sighed in relief seeing that he wore a pair of red pajamas, which instead of making things clear only made it even hazier.

Law pressed his lips together and scrunched up his forehead as if in deep thought... Wait a minute, he didn't remember putting pants on, in fact, he didn't remember anything. A barrage of questions swirled inside this throbbing head.

Rubbing his temples trying to recall what the hell happened, the sudden outburst of vivid images from his nightmare made Law shudder. He was doing naughty, lewd things with his sexy minx little explorer which was goddamn glorious.. then..then...Law hoped it was really a dream.. cause freaking Garp joined them. It was wrong. Wrong on so many levels. Law started screaming 'My eyes', rubbing the living daylights of those poor gray orbs. Reality was cruel.

The tattooed man sat up, clutching his chest and started to hyperventilate. Gripping the sheets tightly, Law found it extremely hard to breathe— smacking his chest, he desperately gasped for air, he took a few deep breaths to calm down and assess what the hell was going on.

Swallowing hard, he reluctantly let his gray eyes roam the room and his heart stopped. There are times in life when people had their worse that they wished they would just die and Law knew there was still hope out there but..but.. as he laid his eyes on the sleeping form beside him, he might have already died and this was his punishment in hell for hitting on his boss' grandson because HOLY SHIT, he was indeed sleeping with Monkey D. Fucking Garp.

Hugging his own knees, the mentally scarred agent started rocking back and forth as he covered his ears from the loud snoring that somehow he only heard just now. Law tried to convince himself 'It was just a dream, a dream', repeating it over and over so the demons would disappear. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's just a dream Trafalgar." He then opened his eyes only to see the body still next to him. He repeated the same action for countless times only to achieve the same trauma-inducing result.

The agent would not accept this..this.. nightmare. Once again, he sorted his fucked up brain. He closed his eyes. "Nope bad idea." All he could see was the disturbing images of Garp joining them in bed. Holy fuck, it was just wrong. Law started smacking his face and glared at the door ahead and squinted his eyes. The last thing he remembered..was... Yes! He was taking a bath. Right...Luffy suddenly appeared in the room. Law nodded at that, he liked that. Then.. they were kissing and things escalated quickly leading them to the bed...

Law encouraged himself to recall every goddamn detail cause he would not accept that he freaking slept with his boss. 'NOOOOOOOOO!' He internally screamed. Then..right, the asshole had to bother their make-out session. Damn, Law was disappointed that they were cut off short but on the other hand, relieved to fully know that he didn't sleep with his old boss. Law exhaled the breath that he didn't notice he was holding in for a while now.

He propelled himself out of bed with high-level eagerness and started dancing. Yes, dancing cause he was fucking happy, ecstatic, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! The agent started nodding his head and shaking his hips as he circled. Shuffling his feet and humming 'I didn't sleep with my boss' with a 'yeah yeah yeah' at the end. He didn't mind his aching head from the multiple bumps that he know remember came from the stupid old man. The fact that he was free from his nightmare elated him to the point where his pain threshold quadrupled.

Now that things were cleared, he felt somewhat frustrated. They were so close to consummating their love, first step to their long-lasting cohabitation. He glared at the sleeping form, he wanted to drown the man in a bucket for sabotaging his and Luffy's perfect moment. He should probably kidnap Luffy so they could stay away from cockblockers, he nodded at that thought as he continued dancing. He wondered whether living with criminals turned him into one cause for sure their mentality was rubbing on him at an alarming rate.

Law froze on a stance that he calls the swan princess - arms raised above his head while on tiptoe - when he heard someone clearing his throat. His head quickly snapped towards the door, slowly lowering his raised hands, only to see his beautiful raven-haired lover covering his mouth with both hands with a flushed face.

Law groaned mentally, he didn't have the time to feel embarrassed when the younger raven (that he totally wanted to strangle at the moment..with love of course) started bursting with laughter as he knelt and slammed the floor with hand while the other clutched his stomach, he paused for a moment to look up and wipe the side of his eyes and laughter echoed in the room again. Law swore it lasted for more than ten minutes. The younger raven was trying to control himself but failed royally every time he set his brown orbs on Law.

Law glared at the explorer and Luffy covered his mouth again to muffle another batch of boisterous laughter. Garp must be so fucking tired from beating the shit out of him and Luffy to sleep through all the noise and snorting. Luffy exposed such an unflattering laugh that Law couldn't help but laugh along. They stared at each other, eyes bright with laughter and blushed faces.

Finally out of his high from the laughing fit, Luffy took a deep breath and exhaled exaggeratedly. His face contorted as he ought to look serious only to end up smiling from ear to ear. His Torao's laugh was the most beautiful sound he ever heard. He started to speak.

"Shishi...Oh my god, I-im sorry.." He covered his mouth again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude..in your.. little ritual Torao. You can continue." Luffy motioned his hand for his Torao to continue as he snickered.

Law facepalmed, his lover would not let this one go for a very very long time, he could already feel it. The little shit (that he loves) would torment him, there was no denying that. "Ha ha Luffy. Very funny." He tried to act mean and glared at him but as he noticed the red reading glasses that rested on his lover's nose, at the very moment, Law had a revelation that he would have a glasses kink. How could he be mean with his adorable, hot lover who flips his emotions as easy as a freaking light switch? Law sighed in defeat as Luffy kept humming the song he impromptu composed. Today's gonna be a long day, Law thought.

The couple walked in the hallway with Luffy still teasing the older raven after Law had put on a shirt. "Are you planning to add more lyrics to your little song Torao? Shishishi". The cheeky bastard, Law thought. He matched Luffy's walking pace and scooted closer to the younger man with the brightest smile Law could muster. Instinctively, the explorer stepped back hitting until his back hit the wall.

Law leaned closer to his ears. "You've been really really naughty Luffy and I like tying up naughty brats," Law smirked as he saw Luffy shut up and gulp audibly. He should have done that in the first place rather than listen to the nonstop teasing his lover had been throwing at him, at least he now knows how to shut him u-

"Oh. Is that so? Why don't you try To-ra-o?" The little devil purred Law's nickname and he couldn't help but bite his lip. Why couldn't he just shut the fuck up and not lead Law to ravage him on the spot? Law traced his tattooed fingers on Luffy's side playfully earning him a soft gasp. He grinned as the explorer closed his eyes, he took the opportunity and started tickling the younger man who dropped down kicking Law's foot making him tumble and fall on top of Luffy.

They stared into each other's eyes. Law leaned closer, wanting to reenact the heated kiss they shared the previous day only to be stopped by the ticklish sensation he felt in his armpit. Even his freaking lover cockblocked him. Seriously? The older man sighed and played along cause why not? They were enjoying each other's company. It felt refreshing for Law to make Luffy smile and laugh.

The duo paused and looked up when a menacing aura engulfed them. "What did I say about doing things with my grandson, Trafalgar?" Law wondered whether he would survive until he reached twenty-seven.

* * *

Breakfast ended up as soon as it started, apparently, the straw hats were also afraid of Garp. Everyone left right away minding their own business leaving Luffy, Robin and Law and the old man in the table while Sanji started taking the dirty dishes.

"Oi Trafalgar, are you experiencing some kind of Stockholm syndrome?" Garp shook his head and sipped on the cup of tea Sanji offered. The black haired woman chuckled calmly sipping her coffee.

"Stockholm syndrome? What do you mean? I'm here because I wanted to. I'm your grandson's boyfriend after all." Okay, that might have been a bad idea for the man spat his tea and turned red, Garp could really pass as a human train with all the imaginary smoke Law saw coming out of his nostrils and ears. The old man was about to pounce the stupid agent for trying to take his grandson away from him when Sanji interfered.

"No fighting on the dining table, assholes." Bless Sanji for his bravery. He will be remembered.

Garp glared at the blond and turning his head back to the smug looking Trafalgar. "Garp-san, we would appreciate it if you don't kill Trafalgar here, since Luffy mentioned he would be working with us, yes?" The old man seems to calm down hearing Robin's soothing voice.

Garp cleared his throat and sounding all business-like. "Yes, his team would continue to monitor and assist your crew as per request of that idiot brat over there." Garp pointed at Luffy who was sticking out his tongue. Law tilted his head obviously lost in the current conversation. He made eye contact with Luffy, awaiting a response.

"Ohhh yeah... I forgot to tell you Torao. Shishishi, I asked the WG to let you work with me! Your team and even Barto will remain working for the WG. Isn't that nice?" Luffy said with a beaming smile. Law would kiss the man if only the old bastard wasn't there ready to rip out his throat the moment Law even touch a single strand of Luffy's hair. He wouldn't mind working for the WG again, he loved that job in the first place, his life couldn't be more perfect.

Law had his job back, he also had the most thoughtful, kindest, unselfish human being in the entire universe as his lover. Knowing that Luffy even let his team come back made Law fall even deeper in the pithole of attraction and he didn't care. He should really tell the younger man that he..he loves him. This was indeed love. Trafalgar, you made a damn good choice..the best one you had so far, he told himself internally. And Law doubted that anything could top this decision.

"Oi Trafalgar, don't you think you could put your filthy hands on my grandson just cause you're working with him!" The old man bellowed. Law smirked. "Make me, grandpa," Law said mockingly. Luffy started laughing and Garp well he almost destroyed the table only to be reprimanded by Sanji. Luffy and Law gawked at the blond, Sanji should be freaking canonized, he was already a saint in Luffy and Law's eyes.

Robin shook her head. There was no boring day in their lives while Luffy was around. "Luffy, I guess it's about time to resume our... duties," Robin said and motioned at the room at the end of the hallway. Luffy adjusted his spectacles and nodded.

"Is Torao coming with us?" Luffy sweetly asked the tattooed man beside him. Luffy wondered how noses could glare with such intensity cause his grandpa was doing it. Luffy huffed, it would be nice if his grandpa could just accept that he likes Torao. Wasn't it the same as how Garp treats Sengoku? Luffy cringed, scratch that, that was gross. Gods no. He shook his head erasing the unholy image.

Law hummed. He didn't have anything to do while staying in Luffy's place so why not join the duo in their work. He rather chooses that than 'talk' with his boss, that's for sure so he nodded and they headed to the spare room located at the end of the hallway. Luffy swung his hand back and forth bouncing as they walked. Law intuitively caught the small yet strong hands, intertwining it with his own. The smaller raven looked at him with a pleased smile.

Along the hallway, Law couldn't stop himself from being curious with the portraits hanging on the wall. "Luffy, is that your family?" The Explorer stopped in his track.

"Yes," he answered meekly and started walking again.

"Where are they now?"

"It would be better not to-" Robin butted in only to be intercepted by Luffy. "It's okay Robin." The explorer smiled at her. And then, very slowly, as he walked he tilted his head to Law and opened his mouth speaking in a monotone voice with a still face, "They're gone Torao. It has been sixteen years." The agent had a hunch but hearing it coming from the man himself did made him a bit stunned. Law gently squeezed Luffy's hand, he listened intently as Luffy explained everything to him. Robin walked ahead giving the two privacy.

Law hugged his Luffy running circles on his back as comforting as possible as the man finished retelling painful memories. He was happy that Luffy trusted him enough to bare everything and Law wanted nothing more than to stop his lover from hurting, make him feel that he was not alone, that the people around him understand his circumstances. He knew he couldn't really fix what was missing in Luffy's life but he would do whatever he could to fill the gap.

"This must be so hard for you to tell me..but thank you. I understand everything now." Law murmured as Luffy nuzzled his face on his chest. "It's okay to cry. I'll be here." Luffy suddenly giggled making Law furrow his brows.

"Torao, you can be really sappy sometimes huh?... But I guess I am too." Law slowly faced the man, who had a tear in his eye with a frown. He lifted the spectacles, brushed the tear with his thumb and kissed the side of Luffy's eye where the tear rested. He gently placed the glasses back.

"I'm okay, Torao. Don't look so guilty and glum." Luffy smiled reassuringly. "It's just...you can't exactly forget things like that.." Luffy said while shrugging as if putting their previous conversation aside and pushed the door as they reached the room. Robin was already waiting for them files neatly displayed on the long table along with the book they stole ..um.. borrowed from the WG.

* * *

The ticking of a clock sounded loud in the quiet room. The silence was intense Law could hear the faint sound of flipping pages as if it was a hundred decibels. The agent gently placed the book he was reading on the table and set turned to glance at the clock and saw that it was already eleven-forty five. It had been almost four hours since Luffy and Robin dealt with the book.

He rubbed his eyes and watched intently as Luffy and Robin methodically handled the book with extreme caution. Who would've thought such a man who destroyed his phone in one touch could actually act so careful with a book. Law was a smart man but he had no idea what the hell Robin and Luffy were looking for, he was a doctor and an agent, not really connected with what Luffy does. He watched his lover flip the book expecting it to magically spew out the clue and flopped dejectedly on the chair.

Luffy and Robin had been flipping the pages of the book for the umpteenth time. They have gone over and back from the first page to the last one noting every word from the book that they deemed useful to uncover the clue. Luffy started rubbing his temples and stared at the book, squinting his eyes.

"Robiiiinnn" Luffy whined and the woman sitting opposite of him hummed sympathetically. "My brain's getting fried. We've been reading ten thousand pages over and over. Why do they have to make it so damn hard?"

"It won't be a treasure hunt if it's just displayed in plain sight Luffy. You love challenges, don't you? This is one." Robin calmly answered pointing out something apparently Luffy forgot.

"All I could think of is.. that thing is an abomination, a curse bestowed upon me." Luffy accusingly pointed at the book, snarling like a wild animal.

"Luffy.." The dark haired woman lowered her glasses, staring directly at her whiney, almost-displaying-premenstrual-syndrome-tendencies raven-haired friend "we all know what hunger does to you, it's almost lunchtime after all. Do you want me to ask Sanji for food? He would understand why we have to bring it here."

Luffy stared at Robin with immense admiration. "Robin, did I ever tell you that you're an angel?" he said and started sobbing.

Robin looked at Law without a sign of emotion on her face. "You're going to deal with that for the rest of your life, Trafalgar. We don't exchange items or accept returns if you simply change your mind." She was about to leave the room to seek the chef and feed the whiney Luffy but the raven whined even louder and asked Robin to stay, leaving the woman with no choice but heed the man's request and listen to more incessant whining.

Law stared at his pouting lover, chin resting on the table, he was so cute yet irritating at the same time as he kept whining that the agent could throw him off a cliff lovingly. Law didn't even know what that meant. Sometimes Law wondered what Luffy's actual age was. He was just so random, so... Luffy that sometimes he acts like a man on his midlife crisis or a twenty-two-year-old man with a temperament of a toddler. Trying not to get overwhelmed by what the dark-haired woman said, he shrugged and picked up the book he had set aside.

Whining still hung in the air when Chopper and Usopp suddenly burst through the door, startling the raven-haired trio out of their chairs and into their feet. Luffy had fallen on his butt wincing at the sudden impact and pulling himself up, grasping at the table, he rubbed his back and shot a glare at his best friend. Chopper had already hidden behind Robin clutching his phone to his chest. Usopp advanced and continued to chase Chopper, both circling around the table, Usopp grinning while Chopper screamed frantically.

"Boys, boys... Why don't you stop running before someone trips and hits his head on the edge of the table and blood will ooze out of it along with some brain tissue." Robin said as she sat back down, elegantly flicked a strand of hair that was sticking to her cheek.

That caught the attention of Usopp and stopped midway catching Chopper. "What the hell is going on?" Law asked. He stared at the poor teenager who had been heaving as he protectively kept the phone tucked in his chest with his small hands. He liked the kid, he had never met someone as interesting as the kid with his love for medicine, Law could connect to the kid easily with just about of medical knowledge.

"Tell..tell him to stop!" Chopper yelped as he hid behind Law. The kid was now comfortable with him knowing the man was an impressive doctor.

"Stop bullying Chopper Usopp just because you're bitter about your shirt." Luffy blatantly said. "And whose fault was that?" Usopp retorted through gritted teeth.

"Wait.. you guys can talk about your issues later." Law looked between Luffy and Usopp. "What's going on? Why are you chasing Chopper?"

"I just wanted to check his denden mushi profile." Usopp shrugged, Law raised an eyebrow and turned around to check Chopper's reaction. The teenager became flustered and started fidgeting.

Usopp had a smug smile on his face. "Chopper's 'stalking' someone, I just wanted to help him. I'm good at it, you know."

Luffy leaned on the back of the chair making it tilt and started rocking the chair. "Listen to the man Chopper. How do you think he ended up with a girl like Kaya?" Chopper now looked interested and peeked out of Law's back inching slowly towards Luffy with his flushed doe-eyed face.

"He blackmailed her, of course. Shishishi." Robin chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand as Usopp scowled at his best friend. Such a traitor. He did not blackmail his girlfriend. Maybe he did hack into Kaya's stuffs (which he knew was wrong) but it was out of curiosity and there was no another way of knowing the pretty blonde. He had higher chances of dating her if he knew what the girl liked and disliked so he had no other choice.

"I can really help Chopper. I'm a love expert!" Usopp winked at the young doctor.

"Isn't Chopper like..12?" Law blurted out earning a cute glare from the teenager. " I'm sixteen!" he shouted.

"Oh okay...my bad. Sixteen then but aren't you too young to join that dating site? Are you even allowed to use it at your age? I'm ..not sure.. but doesn't it have an age restriction?" Law asked.

"I..i..i..changed my birth year." Chopper's face became beet red.

Robin hummed. "Millineal problems."

"When life gives you lemons, you make a goddamn lemonade. That's a very good way to take things Chopper." Usopp sagely nodded. "It worked for me, it should also work for you. Follow the path of Usopp-sama."

Luffy squinted his eyes in extreme concentration. "Lemon..." He beamed and looked at Robin. "Lemon!" He screamed in joy bouncing up and down. Law scrunched his forehead, what was so interesting in lemons when its sour...unless Luffy meant. the errr.. the other kind of lemon, now that, Law understood the excitement.

"No, Luffy." Robin deadpanned as soon as she realized what had Luffy meant. "You will not molest the book with lemon juice nor any other agents. Do you know how old that book is? We're not even sure if it has a hidden message." Robin firmly answered making the explorer pout.

"Can you even imagine applying lemon in all of that? Are we even sure that the ancient people didn't use lemon as an ink? It would just ruin the entire book making it impossible for us to get anything, it would turn brown Luffy." Robin explained.

Luffy sagged on the jar. "I know. Let's try the simplest and safest one then, hover light over the book." Luffy started flipping the pages of the book unconsciously.

Law leaned on the table and gave the book a penetrating stare. "Luffy, can you give that to me for a sec?" The explorer looked at him and carefully passed the book. Law slowly placed the book on the table. He opened the book at the center first and shook his head.

"What are you doing?" Luffy scooted over, their arms touching each other. "You see, I knew someone who was obsessed with books. He would ask someone to apply a fore-edge painting in all his collections." Luffy's eyes widened in realization. "How did I not think about that?!" he gasped.

Law fanned the fore-edge of the book and grinned. A scene painted on the edges of the pages of the book appeared the moment outspread the book in a semi-circular way. "When they use this technique, it's either when closed it would be visible right away but considering they were trying to hide something, they would obviously use the second one."

"They would wait for the painting to dry then apply glit or marbling to make the image complete invisible until the fore-edge is fanned," Luffy said suddenly sounding ecstatic. Luffy bit his lips and stared at his Torao. Gosh, was he fucking sexy explaining and shit. An idea popped into Luffy's mind, he decided he would give the man a prize for helping him solve another mystery. Fuck his self-control and blushing fit, his Torao deserved it after all. He shivered as he thought of all the things he could do with his incredibly sexy lover.

Robin, Chopper, and Usopp hovered over the book and checked the painting that was now visible. Usopp and Chopper were awing at the sudden discovery while Robin held the book for them. Luffy suddenly grabbed Law's shirt and pressed their lips together, slipping his hand around the taller man's neck. Law kissed him back and even probed his tongue inside Luffy's warm cavern. There was no sense of urgency, nor hesitation only the thirst of savoring every taste their lover could offer.

"Oh god! Not when Chopper's around! Jesus Christ! You guys are such bad influence!" Usopp shrieked covering Chopper's eyes ushering the teenager outside of the room to preserve the little guy's innocence. Luffy giggled and whispered 'We're not done yet' into his Torao's ear. Law shuddered with anticipation, did the gods finally bless him? Yes, please, he thought as the younger man removed his grip on his neck giving him a playful wink.

Robin chuckled and closed the book. " Are you familiar with the painting Luffy?"

Luffy paused for a bit and tilted his head removing his glasses and placing it on top of his head. He tapped his foot... "Not really... but I do know someone who would probably know."

"Who is it?" the woman asked.

"Doffy." Luffy deadpanned.

Law's neck almost snapped as he turned around to stare at his lover as if he was saying something utterly ridiculous. It was impossible. He probably misheard. There was no way Luffy's referring to the same person as to who Law was thinking right? He swallowed hard and dared himself to ask. "Doffy?"

Luffy grinned. "Yeah, Doffy as in Doflamingo Donquixote." Hearing the full name, Law's jaw dropped and his eyes almost popped out of his head in horror. Luffy's got to be shitting him.


	12. A Barrage of Side Characters

This is one damn long chapter.

Hope you guys love the content though *winks*

 **-guilty-**

 **A Barrage of Side Characters**

Sitting in lotus position on the lawn outside his ancestral house, Luffy basked himself into the brilliant burst of colors of blazing red, pure white and sun-kissed yellow roses in the garden that Robin and Franky had taken care off. With the weed pulled out, hedges cut symmetrically, the garden looked as immaculate as it used to.

The weather was perfect. The sun was up. The fresh breeze of wind blew seamlessly. The birds were singing and the elegant colorful butterflies were gracefully hopping from one flower to the other sipping their own fill of sweet nectar as they dance around each other.

Luffy sighed in contentment as he scanned the beautiful scenery. Now, if only his Torao was around to sit with him and enjoy a moment of peace cause damn, it only happens once in a while. Speaking of his Torao, where the hell was he?

Ever since they found the image hidden in the book, the tattooed agent's demeanor changed. Well not like the man had a lot of emotions splayed on his face. It was either looking pissed off or smiling when Luffy was around with the rare blushes that the explorer oh so loved.

Did Torao not like the kiss Luffy had given him? That seemed to be the only reason for the sudden change. He frowned and stood up from his comfortable position stretching his limbs and brushing off the grass that was sticking on his clothes.

He roamed around the mansion, checking every room and calling out the agent's name. He pondered for a moment, pausing in the middle of the hallway, was Torao giving him the so-called 'silent treatment'? He shook his head as if to wake himself from his stupid thoughts. He was also sure that it was too early to leave the 'honeymoon stage'. In fact, they never experienced that, they were blasted with reality the moment they got together.

With a frown on his face, he grabbed the knob gently turning it and pushed the door to Law's room. He peered through the gap and saw a human-sized cocoon on the bed. He walked past the dim room, softly climbing on the bed and staring at the burrito person.

A mop of dark hair poked out of the blanket with squinted gray eyes looking at him. Luffy bit his lip and squealed internally. Why was his Torao so damn cute?

The man rubbed his eyes, smiling as he saw his lover looking at him with so much fondness and adoration. "Good morning, Luffy."

"Good morning, Torao. Did you sleep well?" The man half-nodded with obvious hesitation, the circles under his eyes seemed darker just like the first time they met.

Luffy softly inched himself closer to Law, gently tugging the blanket and snuggled in against the older male burying his head in Law's chest sighing in contentment. Law nuzzled his nose against the ebony hair that smelt of sunshine and flowers, he put an arm around Luffy's waist, pulling him closer to him delighting in the way their breathing rhythmically matched each other. The younger raven purred as Law caressed his cheeks running down to his neck, tracing his collar bones.

Luffy could spend the entire day with Torao like this but they need to prepare for their trip to Dress Rosa. They need to move as soon as possible, the World Government may be out of their problem for the time being but Cipher Pol was still there, lurking behind the shadows following their every move, waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce.

Losing their tailing won't be easy but he was ready to make deceptive actions. Luffy clicked his tongue, as he realized the mansion was not exactly safe even with agents monitoring the area and how he royally fucked up when he appointed Law as the WG representative to monitor his actions. It was such a faulty move, he basically flung his Torao into danger. He almost let out a sigh but stopped halfway when gray orbs were now scrutinizing him.

"What's wrong?" Law said with a sultry low voice.

"A-all's well, Torao," Luffy said with a smile on his face, he hoped the man was still half-asleep to not notice his momentary hesitation.

"I-In fact, I should be the one asking you that..." He congratulated himself for quickly making a subtle distraction, well not like this wasn't bugging his brain for a while now. "You've been acting quite distant since yesterday. Did I do something wrong? Did you not like what I did?" Luffy lowered his eyes with a slight pout on his lips.

"I mean.. well..well it wasn't exactly decent to kiss you in front of my-" the rest of Luffy's sentence was cut off when soft lips took his. They were warm, sweet and sensual.

Law couldn't get enough of his lover's mouth, their mouths parted and Law slipped his tongue intertwining it with Luffy's. When they both draw back from breathlessness, Law rested his forehead against the smaller raven with his eyes closed, feeling Luffy's short breaths on his face.

"Was that enough to make you at ease?... I didn't mind the kiss, I actually loved it, you're getting bolder. It's sexy." he slowly opened his eyes to see the beautiful brown orbs staring at him and pinkish tint spread on his lover's cheeks and Law couldn't help but grin.

He knew it was wrong to hide something important from Luffy that could help him have an audience with his father but then again, Luffy _knows_ his father. He was intrigued as to how they met but discussing matters pertaining to his father would just ruin the current mood surrounding him and Luffy.

It was an unspoken truth that sooner or later the cat would be out of the bag but he wasn't exactly ready to give the details. It had been years since he made contact with his family and basing on Luffy's history and his views on families, he assumed the smaller male wouldn't like the strained relationship he had with his dad.

Law sighed internally, maybe he could tell Luffy before they leave for Dress Rosa. He certainly didn't like the thought of seeing his father again but he also didn't want to leave Luffy especially with the threats that surround the smaller raven. But before all that, he would appreciate if he was clean and fresh as he explains the whole Doffy-is-actually-my-dad thing to his lover.

"Luffy, I'm going to my apartment... Would you like to come with me?" he asked the explorer, he could personally guard Luffy, he felt at ease that way.

The younger raven hummed while nodding not leaving the warm chest he thoroughly enjoyed but then suddenly leaped out of bed with a smile that reached ear to ear. "Really?! I can?" he then paused and the smile was replaced with a deep frown. "but I..i guess that would be a bad idea, Torao."

Law sat up and faced the smaller raven. "Why? Don't you want to take a look at my place? It's not as big as your house obviously but-"

Luffy fervently shook his head. "It's not like that...I would love to. That would be totally awesome seeing all your stuff, every corner would smell like you. That's practically heaven for me...It's just...I.." he sighed "I don't want my enemies to know who you are, where you live and all that stuff. Your boyfriend's not exactly an exemplary citizen, Torao."

Law climbed out of bed and cupped the shorter male's face. "I don't care. I'm an agent, my line of work involves danger."

"Ohhh~ That's intense, Torao. Shishishi." Law rolled his eyes, he was still amazed how Luffy could instantly joke around when a couple of seconds ago, he was all serious and shit.

"Seriously, I can protect myself and I want to keep you safe too. Though I know you don't want that, you're not exactly the only stubborn person in this room. No matter what you say, my mind's made up from the moment I went with you."

There was a pinkish tint on the explorer's cheeks as he smacked the agent's chest.

"Ouch!" The older raven rubbed the area where Luffy's hand landed. "What was that for?"

"That's for being sappy and making me want to eat you," Luffy said with a huff crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh," Law smirked. "I should be sappier then... I don't mind getting eaten by you." He winked at the smaller raven.

"Gah!" Luffy barged out of the room pausing momentarily near the doorway. " Don't tempt me!" he said while giving the man what seemed to be a stern look but turned out all cute in Law's eyes while pointing accusingly at him. The agent couldn't help but chuckle at the level of adorableness his lover displayed.

"S-stop that!" Luffy exclaimed as he waved his hands.

"Stop what?" Law tilted his head.

"L-la-laughing like that! It's distracting!" Luffy huffed, looking away from the tattooed man but Law could see brown eyes catching a glimpse of him. He grinned and started walking towards Luffy with eyes intently focused on the man's face.

Luffy slammed the door before Law could reach him. "H-hurry up, Torao! We don't have all day!" the younger raven stomped his way to god knows where mumbling under his breath making Law shake his head, 'Who's good at teasing now?' he thought.

* * *

After washing up and getting dressed ( though he really didn't see the point when he still wore the same clothes after bathing), Law left the room in a hurry to find the smaller raven. He was thankful to see the man sitting in the lounge.

Seeing Luffy's clothes made him a bit more comfortable of his own, the man was still wearing the same vest and blue jean shorts. Of course, he knew it was a different set cause basically, his boyfriend's wardrobe consists mainly of reds and blues. At least he was not the only one looking like he hadn't changed.

The explorer perked up seeing his Torao ready. He informed his crew -by means of shouting - saying they'd be back as soon as possible, Law didn't know if they had heard him but the collective 'okay' was enough to prove him wrong. He really wondered whether the Straw Hats were really actual humans, they had heightened hearing as a sort of coping mechanism with Luffy or his little raven was t _hat_ loud for them to hear him considering the sheer size of the house.

The duo walked out of the massive land into the winding dirt path that leads to the main street. Luffy hummed Law's impromptu song the entire way skipping leisurely, his straw hat bouncing on his back and happily pointing, naming and classifying every butterfly he encountered which impressed and at the same time, shocked the older male. He often forgets that Luffy was actually a genius and have a wide range of knowledge with nature which was part of him being an explorer.

Law shook his head, he couldn't read what was inside the man's head or whether was there any at all except for random things. They were supposed to be looking out for danger due to the severity of their situation but seeing his lover's sparkling brown orbs as he eyed their surroundings made Law relax. Luffy's company was always refreshing, no matter how crazy his idea might get. He felt himself getting swooped into the explorer's pace again shrugging and ignoring the voice inside his head to take caution.

Before they left the mansion, he asked Luffy to at least get a few guards to come with them. Law would choose not to but Luffy's safety was at stake here, he'd swallow his pride for that one. And considering Luffy was an asset of the WG and was damn important with all the intel he could offer them, it won't be a problem.

But the younger raven declined almost defiantly saying he didn't need stuck-up men in suits following him around like some shady character. Law imposed but he knew Luffy won when the younger man said 'Torao is enough to look after me' with his puppy eyes. He didn't know whether he should feel proud about Luffy feeling safe around him or that was just Luffy's strategy to take the WG's resolute eyes away from him.

Possessed by the internal struggle for easily getting swooned by his lover, the agent accidentally bumped into a man who was crossing the dirt road. He turned to apologize but the man already scrammed away leaving Law shrugging.

Luffy stopped in his track and looked around with furrowed brows. Law was about to ask what the problem was when the straw-hatted explorer grabbed his tattooed hand and proceeded walking a little faster. It didn't take them long for them to reach the main street.

The duo immediately hailed a cab but instead of giving Law's address, Luffy asked the driver to take them to the nearest cafe specifically asking for one with the busiest clientele. The driver smiled and nodded, eagerly starting the car without further notice.

Law was inclined to ask Luffy with the unusual side trip but coffee did sound good for him and his system so the agent went along with Luffy's plan.

Law pulled a phone from his sweatpants' pocket, a new one given to him by Penguin to contact their office for mission updates or emergencies. This seemed to have gotten the explorer's attention who was jovially telling his stories to the curious driver. Luffy stretched his hand and tried to grab the phone but before the lithe hands could reach the device, Law quickly moved it to his other hand saving it from its untimely destruction.

The younger male squinted his eyes and sported a pout, facing Law mumbling something like 'just like Usopp'. The explorer then turned to the driver and asked if the man had a phone he could use which Law immediately stopped, not wanting to add another casualty to Luffy's cellphone headcount. Also, it would be a pain in the ass to replace the man's phone.

Fortunately, the cab halted as they arrived in the cafe ending the haggle between Luffy and Law for dominance over the phone. He arched a brow at how Luffy acted so weird.. well, not that he was not weird in the first place but he couldn't understand why the man would fuss over a phone when he knew full well he could destroy it in one touch. He didn't know if that was just Luffy's random impulse or did the younger raven have a reason.

He guessed the former for the explorer forgot about the phone the moment they stepped out of the cab and hurriedly ran inside the cafe on his toes towing Law behind. A staff offered them a secluded table which Law highly preferred but the smaller male strongly insisted that they should stay in the center which made Law cringed cause there was _a lot_ of people swarming that area.

Before he could voice out his displeasure, Luffy already dashed towards the table, sitting comfortably waving at him with a wide smile. With a sigh of resignation, Law maneuvered through the pile of bodies.

The aroma of coffee assaulted all his senses, making him forget his complaints. He asked his partner for his orders and promptly stood in the long queue of caffeine-addicted customers.

He kept sending glances at Luffy just to make sure the man didn't do anything stupid out of boredom while waiting for his food. Cause everybody knows a hungry Luffy was a dangerous Luffy.

He peered through the crowd again and by the gods, Luffy looked so adorable looking around like a lost child. He knew it was stupid to constantly check the guy but he was worried that someone might sit down with 'his' Luffy. He should've put a reserved sign on the table, that could work.

Stupid Law and his stupid big mouth.

The agent swore under his breath scaring the teenage girl that was openly checking him out as he saw a back of a man who took his seat and was now talking to his lover. Law left the queue cause _fuck that_ , he would not let anyone flirt with Luffy while he takes their orders. And for some reason he wanted to punch the shit out of the guy, he wouldn't care if he was the goddamn president, for his little raven was now sporting a disgusted frown.

Law's patience was wearing thin when the stupid people won't let him pass. As he drew nearer, he noticed two men moving closer blocking Luffy's side and two more was now standing beside the pony-tailed asshole. Law could hear their conversation as he pushed one last idiot out of the way.

"How have you been Luffy? You look even prettier than the last time I saw you." The man waved his head thoroughly disapproving what he just said and brushed his fingers on Luffy's scar.

"I guess that was an understatement, pardon me... You've grown to be a _beautiful_ young man. Did you know that everybody missed you? "the man paused "Especially me, Luffy- _chan_."

Law was pissed with the extreme familiarity and hissed hearing what the asshole just said. Luffy was now eyeing him, more or less trying to subtly get Law's attention with his eyes but who was Luffy trying to fool with his overly dramatic brow movement.

The man slowly turned and looked at Law, his head titled proudly with a smirk on his lips. And gods, Law wanted nothing more than to remove that smug look on the man's face with plastic surgery but with his tattooed knuckles.

After his annoyance had decreased to a tolerable level and realizing it was bad to make a scene in the middle of the cafe, he took a deep breath and the man's face registered in his brain.

"Rob Lucci" he muttered the name in a hushed manner like it was venom as he rushed behind Luffy, placing his hands on the younger male's shoulder. He felt Luffy's shoulder ease as he controlled himself not to 'disinfect' the other man's touch on his lover's cheek with his kisses.

"What do we have here? Do I spy a lover?" the man faked a frown. "Trafalgar Law, isn't it?" the man arched his brow and place his elbow on the table, resting his chin on his entwined fingers and clicked his tongue.

" I was disappointed hearing that you're now kissing the WG's ass Luffy but this... this whole agent lover is just ridiculous." the man chuckled deeply. "Are you that desperate to keep your so-called family safe that you'd make sure they couldn't say no and have an agent lover as a leverage?"

Luffy hissed. "Leave him and my friends out of this, Lucci." The younger male wanted to deny his connection with Law but what was the point when the asshole in front of him already knew. It would just hurt his Torao, Luffy couldn't even imagine the bad aftertaste it would leave on the older man if he denies their relationship.

He clicked his tongue, how the hell did Lucci even knew his deal with the WG? Having Torao around doesn't explain it, they could've kidnapped him or Law could've been his mole inside WG...unless they had their own mole planted inside the World Government..he cursed internally, this was getting messier than it ever was.

The man chuckled again, this time with amusement in his eyes. "Please sit down, Luffy's _friend._ Law glared at Lucci and remained standing, he would not let this asshole order him around. Law hated the man, not only for his criminal activity but the way he treated Luffy like he was his plaything.

He was already furious hearing the man's previous words, he would not tolerate the bastard who ruined Luffy's life by killing his family. If the fucker could stop being overly familiar with his boyfriend and get the hell out of this place and drop dead in the process, that would be more than nice, he thought.

The man shifted his gaze back to Luffy. "Aren't you done compensating for your lack of familial love with your little playhouse family? Isn't it time to come home, Luffy- _chan_? We'd gladly take you in. I can be your brother... or if you want, _lover_." Lucci said with a tone of sarcasm as dark as his heart.

Luffy remained quiet.

Law's eyebrow twitched, he might as well put this man in the number one spot in the list of anger-inducing assholes. He should've let Bepo send his gun to the mansion so he could shot the bastard, consequences be damned. The world would actually thank him for removing something so vile and despicable in its realm.

"I'm surprised you can still return to that place.." Lucci let out a devilish grin "I always thought you were more of a person who dwells in the past yet you still brought your friends there. Don't you think the same thing could happen to them...hmmm Luffy- _chan_?" The fucker's grin even grew wider when he noticed Luffy's eye widened for a split second.

Luffy clenched his fist, veins popping out of his smooth hands. "You better _not_ touch even a single strand of their hair or else you won't know what's coming, Lucci." the explorer said through gritted teeth.

"Oh..is our little sheep making a threat?" The man dramatically gasped. "My, my, you're getting bolder Luffy-chan, you really fit in our _family_ now. Why don't you come with us nicely and quietly?"

The man looked around, scanning the area. "Unless you want to have some fun, you choose a crowded place after all. Did you think a crowd could stop us?" the man frowned " Now I'm really hurt, I'm thinking you forgot who you are dealing with here Luffy. What would you like in the news headlines for tomorrow? Several innocent lives taken by a sudden explosion in a cafe or several died due to stray bullets?"

Law controlled his rising anger. Not only was the man blackmailing his Luffy, he also had the guts to involve innocent lives. The agent sneakily placed his hand inside his pocket and with practiced movements, he unlocked the phone without looking at it and dialed the World Government emergency number. He knew Penguin or Sachi would receive it, pinpoint his location and send in back up. He only hoped they would arrive in time.

Luffy chuckled mockingly, he was already tired of dealing with Lucci. He would rather get shot right now rather than listen to his threats. He knew the man would be true to his words, he was worried about his crew and the people around him at the moment but seriously there should be a limit to how many threats you could tell a man in just a few minutes of talking. He would just piss him off cause that would make Luffy feel good. "Lucci-"

"Go fuck yourself." Law took out the exact words from Luffy's thoughts and damn was that hot.

Law had heard the distant sirens and he was damn contented with the man's disappearing smirk replaced with a vein popping on his forehead and clenched teeth. Law flipped the table and shoving the goon standing beside him and dragged Luffy to the counter of the cafe, getting inside the kitchen ignoring the panicking crowd and headed out to the back door.

Law looked around squinting at the blasted sun. He led Luffy towards a small alley. They could hear the sirens getting louder now deadening the shouts of men following them and their gunshots..

Luffy threw his body over Law's and both males slammed on the ground, wincing on the impact and searing heat surface. The footsteps were closing in and Law looked around once more trying to find a spot to hide. It was goddamn difficult considering the sun seemed to have sided with the assholes with its flaming light.

"Torao, the sewers!" Luffy exclaimed as he pointed the circular metal that covered the hole. The duo immediately stood up and moved the metal cover. Law let Luffy get in first and he followed suit, tightly sealing the hole. There was no reluctance in their actions as they moved down the filthy rusty ladder that was attached to the concrete wall skipping one or more step in the process. Luffy reached the ground first and waited for his partner who jumped down.

As soon as the man landed, splashing murky water all over them, Law held Luffy's hand squeezing it tightly. Beneath the clean big city laid a vast network of dark sewers. The first thing that hit their senses was the darkness and second would be the smell of death in a rather overwhelming intensity. The duo groaned loudly, covering their mouths and noses as they traversed through the interconnecting tunnels ignoring the dirt sticking unto their clothes, floating garbage, and dew dripping from the roof of the sewer with the aid of Law's phone.

They could still hear echoing voices of men following them even inside the sewers as the duo crawled into two adjacent circular holes. Law looked at Luffy who was utterly disgusted as they started crawling towards the end of the hole. Law inwardly groaned, counting from one to ten trying to not think of the shit (literally) that was floating in the black wastewater. He just hoped they won't become green turtles after this 'adventure'.

A few feet seemed to extend to a thousand miles while crawling half submerged in germ-infested waters. It was harder when they had to slow down and turn off the phone's light and avoid sudden noises that would resound in the area and attract the goonies following them.

* * *

Dirt smeared all over their figures as they reached a tight passageway. Without hesitation, Luffy slipped in, followed by Law who had a hard time inching his way through the tight path. They reached an open space where all the tunnels met and hid in a darker corner for god knows how long while still hearing the echoing voices inside the sewers which were now muffled by the rampaging sewer water.

Luffy winced as his right arm hit the wall and felt a warm liquid ooze from what he concluded as a bullet graze. It was a relief that the bleeding wasn't much, he looked up and questioned why it always his right arm getting injured. He should probably ask Franky to prepare a prosthetic cause fuck, he touched the wound with his filthy hands. He cringed at the idea that Chopper would amputate him if ever it gets infected. The image of Chopper looking evil as he chopped his arm made him shudder.

The explorer sighed inwardly, he was goddamn lucky to only have this damage and Torao wasn't harmed by all those trigger-happy psychopaths. Good thing it was dark that his Torao couldn't see the wound nor the blood that was now mixed with the dirt covering him, he didn't want the man worrying again. They need to focus on escaping from Lucci's goonies and leaving the goddamn sewers. The latter was obviously the top priority.

When the voices had disappeared, gods know how long they waited, Luffy told Law to inform the WG to escort his friends to the temporary base they'd be sharing with Law's team and double the agents guarding them with specific instruction to let Bartolomeo choose them personally.

Luffy knew he could trust Barto. Whoever was the CP's mole, the green haired man would find them eventually. He settled his eyes on the man beside him. He bit his lip until it bled, it wasn't Law, right? He shook his head before anxiety and paranoia would take over him completely. His Torao would never do that. Never.

Luffy didn't allow the man to end the call until he heard the confirmation that his friends were safely transported to the Head Quarters which took a while and so they were stuck in the godforsaken sewers for a little longer.

With a sigh, Luffy leaned against Law's side. "What a memorable first date." he muttered sarcastically, inhaling a huge amount of air and immediately regretting it as he started gagging from the overpowering stench.

Law couldn't help but chuckle even though he already wanted to tear every inch of his skin knowing how filthy and germ-infested his body was. No matter what kind of shitty (this time literally) situation they were in, Luffy could still make him smile.

* * *

Law and Luffy finally arrived in the older man's apartment after countless tries of hailing a cab that would allow them to ride even with their filthy asses. The bickering made both ravens irritated as the older man noticed the wound on Luffy's arm which the agent-doctor wanted to treat immediately.

Law wanted to call for an ambulance but Luffy was dead set against it saying it was stupid. People were looking at them either because of their filthy appearance or their public display of a couple's first fight. It would only take a little bit for someone to report them for public disturbance.

In the end, they had started walking while waving at each cab that would pass, much to the misfortune of whoever they encountered along the way until they reached the agent's apartment.

The agent went to the corner of the veranda of his classic two-story brick red apartment and dug his fingers into a small potted plant. He raised his hand for Luffy to stop and let him get in first, he slowly unlocked the door, pushing it as silently as possible wary of any kind of intruder his place might harbor.

He scanned the living room carefully. Deeming the room safe, he motioned his hand for Luffy to follow.

The raven tiptoed and remained standing near the door as per Law's request with a frown on his face. The agent checked every room of the house and every possible hiding spots, inwardly groaning at the trail of dirt he was leaving as he climbed up the stairs towards the second floor.

He sighed in relief as soon as he finished checking the entire place. The older raven ran to the living room and cursed as he saw the room empty.

Law's adrenaline shot through his body the moment he heard Luffy screaming in horror. He ran to where the sound came from hoping nothing happened to his lover or he would curse himself for not thoroughly checking the place which ended up with his boyfriend getting hurt. He was already blaming himself for Luffy's wound and adding more would just make him feel like shit.

He paused in the doorway to his kitchen and facepalmed seeing the explorer frozen, staring at his dark, empty fridge like he was fucking traumatized. Of course, Luffy would react more to Law's empty fridge than with the prospect of dying with infection. He hoped the fridge didn't break his lover's sanity as the man knelt and started sobbing in front of the box, frantically touching the empty chambers with his filthy hands.

Law would need to spend three goddamn days to clean his entire house.

The older man ushered his sulky boyfriend into the bathroom, grabbing the man's arms cause hell, they badly needed a damned shower. Luffy winced and swatted the hand that was squeezing his arm.

Law raised his eyebrow at the sudden violence. He looked at his hand and stared back at Luffy's arm. Right.. how could he fucking forget. Good job Trafalgar.

'Shit' and a litany of profanities was all that his mouth could say. He ripped Luffy's clothes like a bear mauling his victim checking the smaller raven for other wounds. He bumped his forehead on Luffy's in an endearing manner. He pledged that he would personally punch that asshole Lucci in the face the second time they meet.

Law grabbed Luffy's hand and lead him to the bathroom in his bedroom. Luffy was too damn filthy to even care about the fact that he was stark naked in front of Law and eagerly turned on the shower.

Law couldn't promise that he didn't check out Luffy's awesome asset. The smaller man seemed oblivious with his stares, focused on ridding himself of the disgusting smell and filth. Law slapped himself mentally, he was a goddamn doctor and it was not like it was the first time he'd seen a naked person. He needed to check Luffy's arm and not his freaking ass, no matter how eatable it was.

He removed his own clothes and threw it on a trash bin as he headed toward's the second bathroom located on the first floor. The thought of sharing a bath with Luffy was so enticing that he had to forcefully cleanse his perverted mind with the thought of baby polar bears playing on the ice. He hurriedly but thoroughly washed over and over trying to finish faster so he could treat Luffy's wound.

He grabbed a towel and tied them on his hips and headed back upstairs. His lover was still in the bathroom and he was thankful for that cause he didn't know if he could control himself seeing the younger man all bare for the second time. He slipped into a pair of jeans and a gray shirt. He placed a few sets of clothes for Luffy to choose considering he was a lot taller and bulkier than the younger raven. Law placed the clothes on the bed and headed back downstairs to get his first aid kit.

Luffy rinsed himself and went out of the shower, he grabbed a white towel that was stacked in a glass cabinet and started drying himself. He saw the clean clothes on the bed and choose a red hoodie that almost reached his knee. He frowned, he was absolutely not that short compared to Torao. The clothes must've mysteriously stretched as he put it on. He slipped on a pair of black shorts and sat on the bed drying his wet black hair.

Law came back with the first aid kit in hand, he eyed the raven-haired explorer whose face was entirely covered with a white towel. He saw a pair of widened brown eyes who was staring disdainfully at the box Law was carrying. The older raven sighed and scooted beside the younger man who was now sticking to the headboard of the bed.

"Let me check your arm."

"You-you don't have to..It's just a graze, it stopped bleeding now."

"That doesn't mean we have to let it be." The agent opened the box and he was sure he heard Luffy snarl. Was he dating a wild animal? He sighed and ran a hand through his damp hair. "Look, I didn't call an ambulance, I didn't call the HQ, I followed what you wanted-"

"Half-heartedly," Luffy said as a matter-of-factly.

Law rolled his eyes. "Yes. That's true. Still, I followed what you asked of me. Now please would you listen to me and let me treat your wound. I know I snapped earlier, I was just worried. What if you got a lethal wound? Do you think that would make me happy?" He saw the guilty face on the young man and he knew he was winning their little argument.

Law cupped the younger male's face. "I know you want to protect everyone you hold dear but at least let me protect you too. And please let me treat your wound. I don't want you to get sick." The younger man sighed like he just missed winning the lottery and moved closer, removing the hoodie he was wearing leaving him with a flimsy black short.

Law gulped, that had been a bad..very bad idea. Law's skin crawled as Luffy's pinkish nubs caught his eyes and with Luffy's pouting lips, he had to chant the Hippocratic Oath. He repeated it in his head as he focused on disinfecting and cleaning the wound.

"See? What did I tell you? It didn't hurt, right?." He seriously felt like was talking to a goddamn kid.

"Okay. Fine. You were right." Luffy said while huffing looking everywhere except Law's face.

"Wait..Can you repeat what you just said?" Law stared at the younger man genuinely shocked.

"You were right, it didn't hurt. I should've listened to you in the first place." the younger raven mumbled.

"Again," Law stated.

"You" Luffy paused and squinted his eyes "You just want to rub it in my face, don't you?"

Law couldn't help but let out the laugh he held in and clutched his stomach. He must be insane for he finds great satisfaction as Luffy admitted he was wrong. What a great day to be alive, he thought.

"You're an asshole." Luffy pouted and threw a pillow at the laughing raven.

Law stared at the blushing raven and smirked. "You know that's an assault on an officer right?"

"What? I'm a criminal, I do whatever I want, _officer._ " Luffy retorted smugly rolling his eyes.

 _"Really_?" Law leaned closer pushing the younger male against the headboard. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of _law_ ," he whispered into the younger male's ear, brushing his lips against the rim of his earlobe as he could no longer withstand the temptation in front of him.

Luffy gave a little whimper and shiver and it thrilled Law. His reservations were overridden with the carnal need to see Luffy writhing beneath him. He threw whatever was left of his self-control and started nibbling Luffy's tempting earlobe as he pinned Luffy against the headboard.

With a low groan, his long tattooed fingers moved eagerly over Luffy's bare chest, nimble thumbs caressing the nub until it stood erect.

Luffy gasped at the feel of Law's fingers. Law gripped the back of Luffy's neck and pulled him closer, not allowing the smaller male to squirm away from him. Heat rose and coiled within the older male as his clothed body pressed against Luffy's. He took Luffy's mouth with his own and kissed the younger man with intense desire. He wanted Luffy... He wanted him now.

The kisses were fierce, urgent, full of passion. Law felt the rapid pulsing of Luffy's heart as he pressed kisses against his chest. Luffy moaned helplessly as Law traced his collarbone with kisses and then took his pink erect nipples boldly into his mouth. He eagerly lapped the pointy tip with his wet tongue, he hummed tasting Luffy's delicious skin. He circled his tongue against the nubs, flicking the tip before gently nibbling it while his hand squeezed Luffy's other nipple.

Luffy felt himself melting as Law's darting tongue left no bare skin unexplored. A pulsating wave traveled up from his toes, inch by inch until his lowers limbs seemed to not exist at all with Law's ministrations.

Luffy whined at the loss contact as Law carried him in his strong arms, placing him gently on the center soft cushion. Law stared at him with half-lidded gray eyes, caressing his flamed cheeks.

"I always knew you'd look so beautiful beneath me but this... this is.. you are mind blowing...Luffy." Luffy moaned with exquisite pleasure hearing those words and grasped Law's neck pulling him into a smoldering kiss, their tongues dancing, exploring each other's wet, warm caverns.

The younger raven tugged at the hem of Law's shirt pulling the fabric up throwing it unceremoniously on the floor while his fingers skimmed along his naked sculpted chest. His lithe fingers ran across the tanned skin, feeling Law's muscles. His eyes hovered over the beautiful skin laced with blank ink, Law's chiseled pecs, Law's broad shoulders, Law's everything was perfect.

Luffy quivered beneath the older raven's gaze, his gray pools darkened burning with lust and longing.

"L-law" the young raven whispered hoarsely his voice trembling "T-touch me." Hearing his name coming from Luffy's sweet mouth flipped a switch in his brain.

Their chests were now damp with sweat as Law's hands slipped into Luffy's black shorts, kneading his plump ass with his strong hands.

"Ngh.. Ahh.."Soft moans became urgent. Luffy's back arched as electricity rippled all over his body, digging his fingers into the older male's back.

"Fuck." Law groaned in pleasure hearing Luffy's lewd moans. His lover sounded so fucking good, it was driving him mad. Law hungrily kissed the explorer's lips gently biting those luscious lips, he began to draw intricate designs on Luffy's salty flesh with his slick tongue, marking every spot in the process.

Luffy's lips were swollen with saliva dripping down the corner of his mouth. His cheeks were read and heated, his brown orbs were clouded with lust, he was gasping between heavy breaths. All Law could think of was how fuckable Luffy looked. He felt the uncontrollable twitching of his cock. He had never felt this aroused in his entire life.

He needed _more_. More of Luffy.

He pulled Luffy's shorts down and licked his lips seeing the pre-cum-covered tip of Luffy's erect cock. Luffy eagerly hooked his trembling thumbs into the waistband of Law's pants and boxers and lowered them in one drag, the taller male's erection sprung free and Luffy moaned seeing his lover's size.

His muscles rippled under Law's touch. Law's hands slid over the indentation of Luffy's slim waist then trailed down his toned belly to his cock, wiping off the precum with his tattooed finger. Luffy let his head fall back, his back arched at the tremendously pleasurable ministrations.

With a muffled groan, Law lowered himself on top of Luffy. He shifted a bit and Luffy's moaning became erratic at the friction of their erections. He growled as he slowly and deliberately ground their cocks together, the smaller raven started bucking his hips eager to feel more of Law's hard cock.

"M-more, Law, please.." Luffy said through his panting. Law bit Luffy's lip, devouring them. Law's hand reached their erections, grasping both members in his hand.

"Ahh, y-yes!" Luffy mewled.

"Shit." Law groaned seeing Luffy's face contort in pleasure as he started pumping their erections up and down. Their pre-cums leaked out of their cocks dripping on Law's hand as his strokes' pace increased. The sound of Luffy's soft husky voice repeating his name was an aphrodisiac that excited him beyond reason. Law would never get enough of Luffy's lustful gasps and lewd mutterings.

Law felt the need to ejaculate at the insistent coil in his lower body, ready to burst into a ravenous orgasm as he tightened the grip on their cocks and doubled the pace.

'Nnnghh .. L-Lawww" Luffy came first, eyes fluttering open and shut with the coiling intensity that was too much to hold in as he 'orgasmed' bucking his hips a few times as white shot across their stomachs. A low growl escaped the older raven's lips as Luffy's fingers dug dipper on his back. He was sure it would leave a mark.

He pumped harder wanting his own release, Luffy was a mess from his orgasm, moaning his name over and over.

The younger male's name came out of Law's mouth as he came, adding more cum to their drenched stomachs. Despite wanting to be inside Luffy and feel him clench against his cock, he was too damn tired from the stupid chase they had. He rolled over to Luffy's side facing the smaller raven trying hard to calm his ragged breath.

Both raven heads breathed heavily. As they calmed down from their sexual high, gray eyes stared into brown orbs as smiles plastered on their sweaty faces. Law kissed Luffy's nose and ended up in the younger's lips, but this time it was tender, gentle and sweet. Luffy meant so much to Law, he would do anything for the younger raven. Absolutely anything.

The younger male sagged against him in a sated stupor. Law pulled the younger male closer until they could feel each other's hearts beating loudly against their chest. Law ran his hand through Luffy's messy hair, caressing him.

"I love you, Luffy." He whispered into the smaller male's ears as he wrapped his arms around him, their naked bodies drenched in cum pressed tightly against each other. It felt right, he really loved Luffy, he wanted to be with him and share his crazy adventures. He knew it was not desired that lured him to Luffy, it was love.

There was silence as Luffy's body stiffened against Law's. The agent waited patiently, his anxiety and nervousness growing by the second as Luffy remained silent. He didn't have the courage to ask again as time passed by. Unwanted thoughts plagued the agent's mind.

'Maybe it was too early for the younger male, maybe Law rushed things and Luffy wasn't ready for a full commitment. Maybe he scared the younger male to the point where he couldn't say anything. Maybe it was bad timing, Luffy would think he only loved him after experiencing pleasure with him.'

Luffy felt like he was on cloud nine and god he hoped Law hadn't said it due to a momentary lapse of reason... He had been waiting for Law to say those words but the sudden confession caught him off guard with an overwhelming warm feeling bursting in his chest.

As those three words rippled in his brain, he felt like he was a protagonist in a movie where the lead wont get any words to express the happiness that they felt. He slapped himself ten times internally and imagined himself slamming his head against a table. He needed to answer the taller raven. He took a deep breath and hoped his voice won't waver.

"I..."the younger's voice was shaky and Law gulped anxiously waiting. "I- I've been waiting for you to say that... I love you too, Torao," he finally said nuzzling into the man's sweaty chest.

Law couldn't begin to describe the relief he felt the moment he heard Luffy's answer. It was intoxicating and unutterably incredible, he could listen to him over and over. It made him eternally, blissfully happy. He felt complete. One with Luffy.

Luffy was finally _his._ It sounded so exhilaratingly right as he repeated it in his mind. Law delicately moved the mop of hair sticking on Luffy's sweaty forehead, and kissed him on his forehead and his cheeks. He whispered sweet nothings in his ear after one chaste kiss on Luffy's lips, the younger started giggling and Law...Law knew whatever shit he'd encounter with Luffy from now on, they could overcome together.

* * *

Law begrudgingly left Luffy's warmth for he couldn't endure the sticky sensation on his stomach. The younger raven whined and Law kissed his forehead again before going into the bathroom soaking a towel in warm water and wringing it. He headed back to the bed and started cleaning Luffy's stomach and lower body. He then returned to the bathroom hastily cleaning himself and dashed back to the body he left and placing himself comfortable beside it.

A loud slam of a door interrupted their intimacy as the duo jump out of bed instinctively, hurriedly grabbing the discarded clothes on the floor, slipping into them in a split second.

Law groaned, whoever the fuck was bothering them would lose his fingers or much better, both of their hands. Law raced towards the walk-in cabinet and grabbed his sword, Kikoku. Law motioned Luffy to stay behind but the man just stuck of his tongue. Good old Luffy's back, he thought.

Rolling his eyes, he dragged the younger raven, who was huffing in defiance as he crossed his arm and stayed behind Law. The duo stood and waited, Law's grasp on his sword tighten as the footsteps drew nearer, loudly thumping on the stairs.

The door opened. Law was about to swing Kikoku when Luffy pushed him to the side and tackled the intruder, slamming the intruder's head against the open door. Law groaned and pushed himself up only to see a very familiar redhead with his fluffy red coat.

Luffy blinked repeatedly, rubbing his eyes as he remained straddled on the readhead who was groaning in pain and clutching his head. The man opened his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows looking at Luffy.

"Damn! Trafalgar fucking did a good one on me huh." he clicked his tongue and raised his hand to touch the body above him. "But...Shit, this looks so legit. I must have done something good while I'm alive for me to see _my_ Luffy once again."

Law snarled at the redhead and pulled Luffy off of the man, hugging the raven tight. "What the hell are you doing here, Eustass?!"

Luffy stared at him with big questioning eyes while the redhead, Eustass, hissed at the tattooed man. Now the redhead wished he was actually dead, he'd rather enjoy his time with the imaginary Luffy than deal with the tattooed bastard.

The redhead's jaw slackened as he rose up realizing the 'imaginary' Luffy was actually freaking real.

"Wait...why the fuck are you touching _my_ Luffy?" Eustass snarled at Law as he saw the tattooed arms protectively hugging the explorer.

Law titled his head. Just what the fuck was his adoptive brother talking about?

* * *

 **-guilty-**

Dang, was that hard.

Phew, hope that was good enough . *wink wink*

Please continue reading the fic :D

Thanks guys!

 **-guilty-**


	13. When Things Go Down The Drain

**WHEN THINGS GO DOWN THE DRAIN**

"Care to explain what the hell is going on here? Why the fuck are you even here? How the fuck did you get in? And what do you mean by 'your' Luffy? I need answers and I fucking need them now, Eustass." the agent said through his gritted teeth, pointing his Kikoku on the redhead's neck pushing the man against the wall as he gently slipped his free arm around the smaller raven's waist.

Luffy raised his eyebrow, that was probably the longest sentence he heard from his lover. He didn't expect his Torao to know Kid. What a small world huh?

The redhead raised his hands above his head. "Whoa..Whoa. Relax Trafalgar. Is that how you greet the brother you haven't seen for ten years?" He looked over the explorer who was now wide-eyed staring at the brothers. Shit. Luffy was still cute as ever.

"Wha-wha- brother?" Luffy furrowed his brows making sure he had heard that right.

"Adoptive brother." Law corrected. The redhead winked at Luffy and Law squinted his eyes, pressing the sword into his brother's neck just enough to leave a small laceration, a streak of red coming out of the wound. "Stop eyeing, Luffy and answer me."

"How are you, Luffy?" the redhead grinned towards the smaller raven ignoring the sharp sword and the equally sharp pain he felt on his neck.

"Do you want your head detached from your fucking body, Eustass?" Law hissed.

"Fine. Geez. You're still shitty as always, Trafalgar." He started chuckling seeing the tattooed man's popping vein on his forehead then paused as he saw the tattooed arm that was oh-so-casually placed on the explorer's waist. "Wait just a minute." He continued staring at the current pose the duo were holding. "What the actual fuck?" he gasped as the realization dawned and for a moment was unable to speak from being so flabbergasted by the whole thing." Don't tell me...you.. you and Luffy are ... What?! Is this some kind of sick joke? Cause hell, it ain't funny!"

"Congrats, you're still fucking slow as always, Eustass." the agent smirked. Oh, how he loved watching the redhead's mouth gaped as a mixture of utter shock, horror and disbelief crossed his brother's face.

"What the hell, Luffy? You replaced me with this asshole? I'm better than him in all aspects!" the redhead bellowed in frustration.

Law chuckled, the idiot was damn unbelievable. "In what universe do you think a better you exists, Eustass? And what do you mean replace? Wait..never mind...just fucking answer my previous questions, asshole."

"He's sort of my ex, Torao," Luffy said in an undertone and he felt Law's grip on his waist tighten. He didn't need to announce it for the whole world to hear. It was already awkward as it is. Luffy bit his lips, who would've known they were brothers? Well, adoptive brothers but still, he ended up dating the two of them. It wasn't his fault that he fell in love with Kid's brother which made the situation a _little_ complicated.

"Luffy, come on babe. I'm way better than this bastard. I can prove that to you." the redhead pleaded like a kid asking for candy, teary-eyed and pouting. Law cringed, he thought his brother looked extremely disgusting.

"Watch your fucking mouth, Eustass." Law hissed.

"Remove your filthy hands from Luffy, second choice!" Eustass growled back.

"Maybe you forgot that I have a fucking sword on your neck, third-rate ex-boyfriend." the agent retorted.

Luffy rubbed the bridge of his nose to ease a growing headache as the dispute went on and on for another ten minutes and Luffy was getting pissed. Pissed and hungry. Was this how his crew felt when he goes into crazy mode? Damn, now he felt bad for his friends, he ought to apologize later.

The explorer furrowed his brows and started pulling his raven hair out of frustration. If in another ten minutes and the brothers won't stop, he pledged someone will get thrown out the window or Luffy would skewer the squabbling duo and grill them on glowing hot charcoal.

"I swear if you guys don't shut up, I'm gonna eat you both of you!" The smaller raven screamed. Law's jaw slackened, taken aback by the scandalous innuendo cause hell would freeze before Law would let his Luffy 'eat' (whatever Luffy meant by that) his adoptive brother. He studied the younger raven, and let out a deep breath as the raven had meant it literally. And by the way he looks, he better listen before a chunk of his body gets ripped off.

Law slowly dropped the sword and sighed. Just how many people wanted his boyfriend? First, there was that overly familiar Lucci and now, his own adoptive brother? Could the agent at least have a moment of peace from all those boyfriend snatchers? More or less Lucci wanted Luffy for way different reasons than the redhead but still. The term fits.

Kid took advantage of his freedom and moved closer to Luffy, subtly reaching out to the side where Law's body didn't cover. He stopped halfway when the agent curled his lip in an aggressive snarl, grey eyes hard and darting. The redhead scowled and stepped back, putting his arms on his chest.

"Eustass, explain," Law commanded which only triggered the redhead into throwing insults and Law didn't back down either.

"Oh come on! I will lock you guys here so you both can resolve your issues without me hearing and seeing you guys being drama queens! I'm out!" Luffy cried out, completely and thoroughly exasperated, slipping off Law's arms and beelined to the door.

"What?! You can't leave me here with this big dumb psychopath!" The brothers called out to Luffy, then glared back at each other.

"Oh I will." Luffy squinted his eyes shifting his gaze between the two men in a threatening manner, holding the doorknob and slowly closing the door. "Unless someone acts mature and stop this shit! Hell, this is all weird for me, trying to fix whatever you guys are having. I'm supposed to be the one being reprimanded, not the other way around! And I'm freaking hungry so guys better solve this shit as soon as possible."

"I'll do that once you come back to me, baby," Eustass said almost sounding like a purr. Law raised his sword and was about to stab the shit out of his brother when Luffy's screaming stopped him.

Luffy groaned as he ran his hand over his face. He desperately wished for the floor to open up and swallow him whole. The duo had been squabbling non-stop and it was getting into his nerves. They can brawl and fight to their heart's content but not in front of Luffy. Why was it so damn hard for them to freaking get along?

"No Kid, I am not coming back to you. We broke up years ago and went separate ways. That's it. I only love Torao and nothing will change that. Don't even think about coaxing me with food cause that won't work this time." Kid gaped looking at the younger raven, they had dated for a while but he had never heard the guy said the word 'love'. He looked at his brother who now had a smug look on his face. The nerves.

"And Torao, stop provoking your brother. Aren't brothers supposed to love each other? Now, why don't you guys hug and make peace hmmm? Come on. Hug." he motioned with his hands. Luffy harshly bit his lips trying to muffle the laughter that was about to burst out of his mouth seeing the duo resentfully inched closer for a hug and a pat on the back to please the explorer.

The moment the brothers hugged looking like they touched the most disgusting thing that ever roamed the earth, Luffy couldn't hold it any longer and started maniacally laughing. He wiped the tears coming out of the side of his eyes while clutching his stomach. The duo stared at him in disbelief and pushed each other, brushing their bodies from the unwanted contact and both glaring at the younger raven.

"Sorry. Sorry. I can't help it. Shishishi. Anyways.." He took a deep breath and let it out in one huff, composing himself from the laughing fit. "If you guys are brothers, that means Doffy is Torao's dad, right? Why didn't you tell me?" Luffy asked. Law groaned internally, he knew this would happen. He should've told Luffy sooner but who knew his brother would appear out of nowhere? He didn't expect that, not after ten years.

"Technically, he's my adoptive father, Luffy. I.. I left -"

"Cause he's a whiny bitch." Kid butted in rolling his eyes as his brother glared at him. "I hit the spot, didn't I? I'd love to see you explain go all teary-eyed and begging Luffy to stay with you cause you didn't tell him something as important as family."

The redhead pressed his fingers in the searing pain on his neck and scowled seeing the blood in his fingertips but nevertheless, he continued. "That's why I'm here. Dad was worried about you when his... erhmm.. contacts couldn't track you. Though now I know exactly why." He eyed Luffy. "We're glad to know you're safe Law. You should really come home and see Doffy. You don't have to stay, just let the man know that you're okay."

For once Law was surprised that his brother sounded so sincere though the contacts part did prove that his dad was still the same space and time violating blond. "I...I'll think about it," he said.

"Make up your mind fast, my allowance depends on your answer," Kid muttered.

Oh why, of course. Law should've known. "Then say goodbye to your fucking allowance, bastard." Law hissed.

Luffy sighed. "Torao." The older raven huffed and said 'fine'. Did his Torao pout? Truthfully, Luffy found it adorable but damn this was just plain wrong, it seemed their roles had been reversed. It was goddamn freaky.

"And don't worry, Kid. I'll make sure Torao gets to meet him! We're going to Dress Rosa anyways cause I need Doffy's help." The explorer faced Law, "Isn't that nice Torao?" Luffy exclaimed bouncing on his feet, ecstatic at the prospect of Torao seeing his dad again. He didn't exactly know what happened between the two to have such a strained relationship and he won't force the man to explain. He will wait patiently, as patiently as his random mood allows him to.

* * *

After what Luffy thought was an eternity, (mostly time passed fast from stopping the brothers from slitting each other's throat) the redhead finally left Law's apartment. The man wanted to go with them but Law was dead set against it. And no matter how Luffy tried to convince the man to get along with his brother, the agent didn't budge. The Explorer felt like he was looking at himself in the mirror, Torao was just as stubborn as him.

Sighing in exasperation which was goddamn rare for Luffy, he swallowed the last slice of pizza in his mouth and licking the leftovers from his fingers, he flopped himself on the couch and rested his head on Torao's lap. The man had been sporting a furrowed brows look since the redhead left his apartment. Luffy was too distracted rubbing his stomach to actually notice that the man was staring at him intently.

"Where did you meet Eustass and.. and Doflamingo?" Law asked as he leaned his back against the comfort of his sofa. He had no idea how a prominent tycoon would have a something to do with Luffy nor how the younger raven met his adoptive brother.

Luffy set his gaze on Law's scruffy goatee. "I met Doffy during one of my excursions in Water Seven. I had a lead and trailed the Cipher Pol members there. That was before I infiltrated their organization. I followed them into this fancy restaurant and I couldn't get in due to some stupid reservations." Law chuckled at his lover's annoyed tone.

"I was trying to be subtle and all and I couldn't just barge in then I saw a tall blond man obviously wearing rich man's clothing...I had no idea who Doffy was at that time. So I"

Law looked down at his lover, raising a curious eyebrow with the sudden pause. "So you?"

Luffy cringed. "I may have or may not have uh.. flirted with your errr... uhmm..dad?" Luffy sheepishly lets out a smile.

"Oh god." Law groaned and covered his face with his hand. He didn't just imagine Luffy doing the same thing to his father the first time they met. "I can't believe you fucking flirted with my - with that man. Not only was my adoptive brother your ex-boyfriend but you also hit on my dad? What the hell Luffy?"

"Heeeyy, I had no other choice. Doffy was my ticket to the restaurant. I can't let that one slip. I had to." Luffy defended himself, pouting. He didn't like what he had to do back then but it wasn't like he all out threw himself to the man. And Doffy had found out in the end. Luffy was grateful that the blond didn't spill out his intentions albeit for a price which was how he met Kid.

Suddenly Law remembered what the ponytailed bastard had said in the cafe. Thinking of the circumstances, Luffy was trapped inside the library with him. He cornered Luffy there with the slightest possibility of escape.

Was their relationship also a 'ticket' to leave the place? The thought made him shudder, was he that dumb to fall into someone's tricks? Luffy was, in fact, a criminal. He'd use whatever advantage he could take.

Law didn't want to think this way towards the smaller raven. Luffy had a legit reason behind whatever criminal activity he was doing before they met. He knew he could trust the guy but the thought kept gnawing in his brain, clouding his rationality, there was a huge possibility that this whole thing was just an act to gain something out of the World Government. To get them off the explorer's back.

"Am I also a ticket? An opportunity you would grab without hesitation? Have you no other choice but sweet talk me into going with you when I cornered you inside the Archives? Hmm Luffy?" he sounded more menacing, sterner than he ought to mean.

Luffy stiffened and abruptly sat up, brown pools looking at him, lips slightly parted in disbelief.

"Wha- Of course not! W-Why would I do that? I liked you the moment I set my eyes on you, there was no other reason, Torao."

If the situation was different, Law would've believed Luffy, would have thought it was sweet but given the realization, he couldn't feel anything but uncertainty. He gritted his teeth, looking at Luffy with cold eyes. He knew he was being irrational, Luffy had bared everything to him but what the fuck was he doing?

"Is that really all that there is to it? You can have ulterior motives. You've done it before. You can do it again." The pained brown eyes started pooling, it clenched Law's chest. He didn't like seeing Luffy like this, so small, so vulnerable. He wanted to reach out, touch him, apologize for snapping and muttering senseless words that had hurt his lover but he couldn't shake off the thought of Luffy using him, deceiving him. What the fuck was wrong with him?!

Luffy's throat got tight, he felt like the air had been sucked out of the room completely – he couldn't understand, couldn't believe what he was hearing out of the agent's mouth. He sounded so cold, full of resentment. It was true that he didn't expect to find love while still on his mission, falling in love was never his plan but he had never thought of using Law, he loved the man too much for that.

Couldn't Torao see it? Didn't Luffy show more than enough to let Torao trust him? Was his outward declaration of love nothing for him?

Luffy bit his lips staring at the expressionless face that was getting duller. How could Law even think about that? God knew Luffy had second thoughts, especially as the Cipher Pol had seemed to know what his plans were when he started working with WG but he erased those. He knew Torao would never do it. Though he couldn't blame Law for thinking that way, after all, Luffy was a criminal, a menace, a pest in society in the authorities eyes.

But all of these, coming from the only person he truly bared himself and cared for felt like shit.

The younger raven thought things through, which should be the appropriate action. He wanted to explain and not act out of impulse in the heat of the moment. But how? He had already shown the man what he felt, given him his trust. Apparently, that wasn't enough.

Luffy chuckled bitterly, wiping the tear that slipped out of his lashes.

"And here I was thinking that sharing my past and showing what I truly feel was enough for you to trust me, Law." he paused, feeling a dull ache in his chest, "But if" his voice was now hushed, almost a whisper as his voice started failing him. He took a deep breath. "But if that's what you think, Okay. I won't force you to trust me. I'd wait, no matter how long."

Law looked at Luffy sitting, facing him, putting on a pained smiled. He wanted to tell him it was okay, that he trusted him, that he didn't mean any of his words - that he was just scared. Law cursed himself, he had hurt Luffy. He wanted to desperately hold him close, and apologize, shower the explorer with loving words.

The older raven reached out to Luffy's hand but the smaller raven moved his hand, backing away from Law's touch. He stood up and looked around Law's living room. He smiled seeing his straw hat resting on a counter beside the stairs, muttering something about it being clean. He walked towards it and placed it on his head and stared at the clock hanging in Law's wall.

"I got to go, Torao," Luffy said, the image of a pain man now masked by a bright smile. Law followed Luffy's movements with his eyes until he reached the door.

"What do you mean?" Law felt his heart shrunk. Was Luffy leaving him? He stood up, his heart pounding on his chest.

"I -uhmm- I'm meeting Barto at your facility. Yeah. That. He's- He's probably waiting for me already." Luffy said eyes darting everything except in Law's direction.

"I'll go with you." Law imposed.

Luffy waved his hand and shook his head. Law couldn't see what expression the younger raven was holding, half of his face was covered with his straw hat. "No, no no. It's fine, you must have something you need to do here, its been a while since you visited your place, right? So yeah, I'll see you there." The raven opened the door and set foot outside, waving his hand at the agent, the other one fixing the hat that covered his face. He grinned. "Love ya, Torao!"

Before Law could answer nor say anything at all, the door closed, leaving him alone in his living room. He stood frozen, after a moment, he dashed to the door, flung it open only to see an empty porch and an empty street.

"Shit." Law ran his hand through his raven hair. He fucked up. He fucked up big time.

* * *

Usopp didn't mean to eavesdrop. He just wanted to take a leak after holding it in for so long after almost having a heart attack of being dragged out of Luffy's ancestral home. And he would rather jump off a cliff before he had to be escorted to the nearest toilet by the World Government guards that Luffy's boyfriend had apparently set for them.

On the other hand, he should've accepted that Penguin guy's help but he was too damn smug about knowing the entire place in his head. Sometimes his exaggeration really bites him in the ass. The man shared the same interest as him, he was probably telling the truth and was more trustworthy than anyone surrounding him and his friends.

Everyone was wary. Who wouldn't be? They were inside the place that they all avoided like it was ricin. Technically speaking, they were still criminals for staying with Luffy. With or without the agreement that Luffy asked from the WG, they all agreed that they'd stick with Luffy no matter what.

Now here he was, crouching on the bushes in the middle of the huge World Government territory getting his ass bitten by some insect, lost along the way of finding the goddamn toilet. He didn't feel safe away from his crew and what he heard from the blonde woman didn't help either.

The curly haired man covered his mouth with one hand muffling his pained grunts and silently swatting the ants that had been crawling all over him. He focused his hearing towards conversation the blonde was having on her phone.

After an agonizing fifteen minutes, he peered through the gaps in the bushes, sighing in relief the moment the woman had vanished. He moved away from the ant hill, wiping the dirt and ants off his body and started scratching. He cursed, he didn't have time for this, he needed to make sure what he heard wasn't just misconception. Though he freaking hoped it was.

He started running back to the facility where his crew was. The guards were looking at him baffled including his crew as he blasted into the room.

They started asking questions, he could hear Chopper asking why he had tons of red spots all over his body. He didn't have time to answer as he pushed the Sachi guy away from his desk where the computer was, earning a litany of curses from the man.

Usopp didn't give a damn, he whipped his curly black hair back, sweat pouring from his scalp, trickling over his ears like water coming out of a showerhead out of anxiousness. He stretched out his arms and cracked his knuckles, a ritual he always does when he did his thing.

He started fiddling with the keyboard with a loud huff. He groaned as he dragged the chair towards the bag that was resting above the table, he pulled out cables and different kind of external hard disks.

Dragging the chair back, he plugged them into the computer and programs after programs popped out. The crew had already gathered around him, giving him enough space to work on the gadget. Even the additional agents that had joined their team watched in awe as Usopp expertly tapped on the keyboard.

Images and information started appearing in alphabetical order. Usopp glued his eyes to every image that popped out.

Sachi's eyes widened. "How the fuck did you open that?" He stared at the screen then at the long-nosed man. The screen displayed the complete list of all agents working under the World Government. It was a highly confidential data and was supposed to be secured, Penguin and him had made sure it was or they would endanger the lives of agents that were working undercover if ever a third party should ever get to access it.

"Let him work," Zoro growled, blocking the man that was about to shake Usopp out of his concentration. Penguin had already grabbed Sachi's shoulder, easing the tension between the green-haired man and his colleague. Penguin was also confused, the man had to have a reason for opening that date in front of them. It was a ballsy move considering he was inside the WG facility.

Usopp rubbed the bridge of his nose. He input the description of the woman he had seen making the search a bit faster. He ended up with a photo of the woman named Kalifa. A pretty woman with blue eyes and glasses. Her blonde hair was about shoulder length in the photo but Usopp was sure it was the same woman he saw while he was hiding. He grabbed another external HDD from his bag.

This time, he compared the image of the woman to the data that he had gathered as per Luffy's request involving Cipher Pol.

Usopp stared at the screen his mouth hanging open unable to contain the shock. The image from the WG and from his data hundred percent matched. He couldn't believe that a member of the Cipher Pol would easily sneak her way inside the World Government as an agent.

"Usopp, is that what I think it is?" It was Nami who spoke from his back and all he muster to answer was a nod. The woman started cursing, the crew didn't need to ask twice as they read the data displayed on the screen.

"What's going on?" Penguin asked, alarmed at the aura emanating from their 'guests'.

"That woman's a Cipher Pol member! That's what's going on! How the hell do you even find your agents?! Do you even bother to have a proper background check on them or you just pick them out of every shady nook of this city?!" Nami blurted out.

"Shit, fucking shit! They were onto us, that's why Luffy asked the guards to escort us here. He knew but he didn't see this coming. Fuck. He probably did but was still acting on it. Fuck, he really needs to tell us shit." Zoro added, Sanji gently placed his hand on the agitated man's shoulder.

"We're not even sure if that search can be trusted. There should be a mistake. We always check their background." Sachi howled, offended at the insult hurled at his organization.

"Usopp never makes mistakes." Chopper softly said, contrasting the roaring voices exchanged in the room.

"Chopper's right, Usopp might be a coward but he never made a mistake before." Sanji added. Usopp grumbled, he'd take that one as a compliment.

"It's the World Government's incompetence. How do you think he opened this so-called secured file so fucking easily huh?" Zoro howled jabbing a finger at Sachi's chest.

Sanji pulled his partner away from the agent. Robin butted in along with Franky calming down the green haired man. They didn't need more problems to arise, the situation was already fucked up as it is.

Sachi was unable to respond, he stared at the screen, looking between the two similar images of an agent. He ruffled his hair and turn his heal and ran out of the facility, heading straight to the building where the Chief of Staff and Head of the Organization was stationed.

"Where does he think he's going?!" Nami glared at Penguin.

"He's going to report this information to the higher-ups," he stated calmly. They needed to calm down. There was no point in panicking. They found out that the enemy had planted a spy, they could have benefited more if they had known earlier but nonetheless it was still an achievement for them to at least point it out now.

"Crap. What do we do? I can't get a hold of Luffy, he doesn't have any tracker with him." Usopp started wringing his hands.

"We wait for Luffy," Zoro said, a little calmer this time.

"I agree with Zoro. Luffy decides what we do. We move when he says so. Right now, we have to make sure that the woman ends up in custody of the World Government..or much better..in ours." Robin stated and earned a collective nod from the crew.

"Question is, how long do we wait? We don't have the luxury to sit around, Robin." Sanji said politely, bowing his head towards the dark-haired beauty.

The door opened and all heads turned to the person standing alone at the entrance. "Boss!" Bepo and Penguin screamed, running towards the tattooed man, at least they knew their boss could handle some pissy criminals.

Law eyed every person inside the room. He didn't see Luffy. "Where's Luffy?"

Usopp stood up from the chair. "What do you mean where's Luffy? Isn't he with you?" The crew exchanged worried looks.

"He was. But he said he needed to talk to Bartolomeo. I asked to escort him but he left in a hurry." Law answered a bit hesitant and Sanji didn't miss the flinch the tattooed man did as he answered.

"Okay. Where do we find Barto?" Usopp asked.

Suddenly there was a distinct sound behind the three agents standing near the door that they already had familiarized. "I can't believe God Usopp called me~~ I'm in heaven!" The trio couldn't help but facepalm though thankful that the green-haired agent had fully recovered from Akainu's hands.

"Wait.. If he's here.. then what about Luffy?" Usopp swallowed hard staring at his crew. He remembered what the woman had said. "Oh no. Damn!"

"What's wrong Usopp?" the teen doctor asked.

Usopp started fidgetting, wringing his hands. "G-Guys, listen. I should've told you sooner but I was more focused on the woman's identity. But you see, I heard something from the woman."

"What woman?" Law asked he was utterly confused. Bepo briefly explained the current situation and the albino was thankful that his boss had taken in the information quite professionally.

Law faced Luffy's best friend. " What did she say?"

Usopp started fidgetting, biting his lips. Suddenly everything the woman said made perfect sense. "I didn't hear most of it, but.." his eyes darting anxiously at every pair of orbs that was looking at him.

"Get on with it, Usopp." Nami snapped.

"O-okay!" He took a deep breath. "She said she didn't find any more information regarding the whereabouts of Straw Hat Luffy, that the last intel she gathered was regarding the crew. I couldn't hear the other end of the phone but she added that she'd immediately leave the premises once she was given an order to abandon her mission. She's only waiting for the report whether they had already located their target's current whereabouts. And I'm assuming the target was Luffy, cause who else?"

The crew stared at the tattooed agent. "What exactly happened after you guys left the mansion?" Sanji asked.

Law was itching to bolt out of the room to find Luffy but he needed to at least let the straw hats know what occurred on his and Luffy's end. He explained everything, well excluding their private moment and their little fall out. The crew gasped, especially Usopp and Chopper. "I thought he'd be here since like I said earlier, he told me he had to meet Barto."

"Eh? Me? But I haven't seen Luffy-senpai for days." the green-haired agent whined.

"Then where the hell is he?" Zoro bellowed.

"W-what if they got him?" Chopper meekly said biting his lip, tugging the hem of Usopp's shirt.

The crew knew that Luffy would not easily be taken, the guy had escaped countless attempts of abduction and every other scheme the Cipher Pol had done but with how the events are turning up, the crew couldn't help but think that what Chopper said might be the case. There was no other explanation why Luffy was nowhere to be found. Even if he had done something out of his whims, he would at least leave a clue or message to any crew member.

They all exchange gazes. Usopp immediately sat back to his chair, closing the image of the woman and forcing himself to remain calm. He had no idea where his best friend was, he had no idea how to locate him. He only hoped he'd find the specific locations of every Cipher Pol base in the world. It won't be easy but he had to do it. Nobody else can. He prayed he would find it in time.

Law was bombarded with questions from the straw hats, questions he didn't have answers. He should've followed Luffy right away, he shouldn't have questioned the man's intention. "Fuck," he muttered. If something had happened to Luffy, Law wouldn't forgive himself.

"Guys! They found - they found her! They're tailing Kalifa." Sachi screamed, panting heavily, he maneuvered his way to Penguin's desk and opened the feeds of traffic lights all over Raftel. The crew had gathered to watch the video on the ongoing chase.

"They're gaining too much attention. The woman would never lead them to their base. That's one stupid move. Damn it!" Sanji clicked his tongue and pulled out a cigarette from his suit pocket, lighting it and taking a hit.

Law immediately dashed out of the facility right after the street where the chase was happening had registered in his brain. Sanji and Zoro had followed suit.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zoro said, pulling the agent's wrist.

"I'm going to get that woman and find Luffy." He answered without hesitation.

"We're going with you," Zoro stated in finality.

The agent clicked his tongue, the more he argues the more he was wasting time. "Fine. Don't lag behind."

Zoro managed a snicker. "As if." he said, closely following the man towards his car.


End file.
